10 Steps To Make You Mine
by Hikari-sama
Summary: [TAIORA] Sora, a new student at school, and Taichi are locker partners who are in love with each other. Yamato decides to help, but each step he tries, he fails, and they all end up hating each other. REVISED & COMPLETE!
1. Story Information

**10 Steps To Make You Mine  
**Written & Edited by Hikari-sama

**Brief Summary:** Sora, a new student at Odaiba High, and Taichi are locker partners. Tai immediately falls for her, and Yamato helps out by trying to make Sora love Tai. Just when he thought everything was okay, Matt's plans backfires, and everyone end up hating each other.  
**Genre:** Romance, partial humor, and partial violence.  
**Rating:** Restricted for violence, coarse language, and kissing.  
**Pairing(s):** Taiora (Taichi/Sora)  
**Misc. Notes:** Alternate Universe. Original Japanese names used. Slightly out of character. Some original characters used.

**A/N:** Hi! This is the revised edition to "10 Steps To Make You Mine", (the former story) I have removed earlier. Once again, I am terribly sorry if I have caused any inconvenience to you. Before I begin, I shall name those inspiring, gratifying, fine reviewers that have helped me continue along the progress of this Taiora-based fan fiction.  
I'd like to thank sweetsorrow, Taichi Kamiya02, BudgerigarLT, Ultimokoko, Pikachu123597, Music Chick, fan, Furious Alwayz, dunkmoonX, kami no hikari, Ice Wolf17, digimonrule, Taiora Fan, dorkiss, Lady Kamiya, taiorafanforever, TAIORA-4LIFE, May and September Yugimori, TwinBakaNekos, taKAri_ryUki~ruLEz, Daniel, RekiChan, shouviks, cherryblossomgir13, and LucipherMaxwell for reviewing "10 Steps To Make You Mine".  
I'd like to give a big hug to Taichi Kamiya02, BudgerigarLT, and Music Chick for reviewing every single chapter I have previously written for "10 Steps To Make You Mine".  
Once again, I'd like to give a considerable, BIG thank you to Taichi Kamiya02 for giving me the ability to use his identity, Sander, as an actual character for "10 Steps to Make You Mine" (meaning I do not own him). Beyond that, he has helped me big time and deserves full credit. Thanks, Sander!  
Now, before I go on to the actual story, under legal activity I shall clarify that I  do **not** own Digimon or any of its mentioned characters. Digimon is property of Toei Animation. However, I do own a made-up character, Junnosuke, who is the bully in this story with partial violence.  
Remember, always feel free to comment! I am open to constructive criticism. I appreciate all reviews!

**A little something for all Taiora fans:** Join the Taiora fanlisting at **free _DOT_ hostdepartment _DOT_ com _SLASH_ t _SLASH_ taisora**!


	2. Part One

**10 Steps To Make You Mine  
****Part One **Written & Edited by Hikari-sama

  
  
  
  


"Eew!" An auburn-haired girl, named Sora Takenouchi, screamed. "What is it?" Her friend asked. "Mimi! Look at that guy... can you say S-C-A-R-Y?"

Mimi Tachikawa looked around as she spotted a blond guy who had just gotten a tan. She laughed. "That's Atasuke, from my homeroom last year, he looks SO freaky with that tan of his."

"I _know_!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

At the end of the cafeteria, sat a bunch of guys. "Those are my pickles, you asshole."

"_I'll _show you who's the asshole!" a boy with puffy brown hair yelled at a blond. People were clapping about and yelling, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!".

"FIGHT??? I'll show you people how to BEAT!!!" The puffy-haired boy shouted. "Bring it on, Yagami!" the blond-haired jock, Junnosuke Araki, yelled.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Taichi Yagami formed a fist on his hand and punched his rival in the stomach. "NEED MORE FOR LUNCH?"

Junnosuke held his stomach with his left hand. He lurched towards Taichi and tried to kick his knee. "Nice try," Taichi mocked, "_ass_."

The Araki jock narrowed his eyes at his opponent as his hands turned into fists. Junnosuke punched Taichi's chin as hard as he could. The crowd stopped cheering.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Still at her table, Sora Takenouchi's eyes followed along the cluster of people in the cafeteria of their high school. Someone's head was upside down staring right up at her. Whoever he was, he looked so... well, dumb. "Uh... Mimi? Is that guy over there staring at you?" she asked her friend.

"No. He's staring at _you_."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"What's shakin', Yagami??" Junnosuke said sarcastically. "Is it _my_ turn to show you how to BEAT?"

Taichi didn't answer. He was leaning against a table, his chin sore. His body was bent back like a croissant. If you were in front of him, you'd only be able to see his chest.

"Come on, you _dumbass_."

Taichi blinked his chocolate-brown eyes, but still didn't move. His eyes were focused on a beautiful girl laughing right in front of him, about thirty feet away. Except at the same time, he was thinking about something else. "Do you think she's cute?" Taichi whispered to Junnosuke, slightly pointing to Sora. "Nande? What the? Why are you asking _me_ that?"

The people watching were curious about what they were saying, but also didn't move just in case they'd have to face any injuries. Junnosuke looked at the two girls giggling and talking to each other. A brunette and a redhead. "Who, Mimi?" Junnosuke asked.

"_No_! Look, come over here," Taichi urged. He told Junnosuke to try to put himself in the same position as Taichi was. "Oh... okay," Junnosuke listened. Everyone in the crowd tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

Taichi stood up straight and, as he looked at Junnosuke... "ITAI! OW!!! WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT FOR?!?!"

Now, Junnosuke had a smashed, red nose (Rudolph look-alike? Maybe so). He touched it, then squealed. "No... man! Now I'll never get to attract pretty cheerleaders!"

"Not _my_ fault."

Junnosuke Araki sat down on a bench. "You bastard," he complained, "Don't you know that my nose is worth a million dollars?!"

"Too bad, man. Now _mine's_ a million-dollar worth." 

"Although your _chin_ needs some fixing." 

"Shut the hell up, Araki."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Who exactly _is_ that guy?" Sora wondered. "Oh, he was also from my homeroom last year," Mimi answered, "His name's Tai... Taichi Yagami. I have to say, though... he's a jerk." Sora chuckled. Mimi and Sora headed to their lockers by themselves. "Ja ne (see you later), Mimi-chan!"

Sora reached her locker and pulled out a blue-green binder with huge, bold, black letters that marked her name. She noticed a black binder laying around there. _Must be my locker partner's_, Sora decided. At Odaiba High, you had to share lockers because of the multitude of students that attended the school. Somehow, Sora just couldn't wait to meet her locker partner. _We might as well have a lot of fun together_, she thought. As she closed the navy blue locker door, she felt someone behind stare at her.

Sora looked back and noticed that guy... what was his name? Right. Taichi Yagami. "Hey, Tai," Sora greeted and smiled at him. "You... you know my name?" Taichi stammered.

"Hai (Yes), Mimi-chan told me." For a moment, Taichi seemed speechless. Sora looked confused. "So... what are you doing here?" she asked him curiously. Taichi smiled at Sora. "I think we're locker partners." 

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~ 

"Matt!" Mimi called her old friend. "How are you?" 

"I'm fine, thank you. How about you? It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Yamato Ishida answered. They met each other at mathematics, which was their only class together. They were, luckily, a few minutes early to class. "Yeah." 

"Say, Meems, who were you talking to at lunch period?" he asked. Somehow, he was really curious about that reddish-brown haired girl Taichi had been--possibly--staring at.

"Oh! You mean Sora? She's a new student here and she's really nice. I think you should meet her," Mimi remarked. "By the way, what happened at lunch? I heard some fighting over there."

"Yeah. Poor Tai, he got a bruise on his chin." 

"Poor _Tai_? Come on, we all know he's a jerk. The only thing he does is beat people up!"

"I guess he won't be doing that for a while anymore."

"What do you mean?" 

Yamato was scratching his head. "No, nothing... hey, Meems," he said, "How's that friend of yours--Mina--or something..." 

"It's Sora." 

"Whatever." 

"Well, actually, we're meeting each other at the ice cream parlor today after school. You want to come?" 

"Oh! You mean that mini store across the street?" 

"Yeah." 

"Count me in!" 

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~ 

Tai and Sora both smiled at each other. "Well, I gotta get to class now," Taichi said, "What's _your _next class?" 

Sora checked her class schedule in her hands. "Let me see...," she scanned through the paper, "History." 

Taichi cleared his throat. "Sorry, did you say history?" he asked. Sora nodded and added shyly, "I think I'm gonna need help getting to that class." 

"Don't worry. I'll get you there." 

"Arigatou, Taichi-san." 

Tai blushed. "My pleasure." 

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~ 

"Dude, Yamato, I think I'm in love." 

Yamato laughed. "Like I never knew _that_!"

Taichi pressed his lips together. "Huh? Whatever... you know that girl... Sora Takenouchi?" Yamato stopped laughing. "That girl whom you were staring at in the cafeteria? Mimi's new friend?" he asked.

"Yeah... and... well... she's also my locker partner."

"Your locker partner??" Yamato's eyes widened. "Dude, you got 100% chance with her now!"

Taichi scratched his head and could feel his cheeks getting a little warm. "I walked her to history class today... and she even let me carry her books," he added, his cheeks getting even warmer now.

"But there's a problem," Taichi said, biting his lip, "Now that I know I have... you know, feelings for her... I... umm...." Obviously, Yamato noticed Taichi's legs were shaking like crazy. "Don't worry, Taichi."

Taichi looked up at his friend. "Huh?"

"I'll help you out," Yamato decided. Taichi still looked confused. Yamato smiled. "Today, my friend, we'll be officially starting the ten steps to make her yours."

"How do I do that?" Taichi asked, looking around nervously to see if anyone was overhearing their conversation.

"Simple. I'll guide you. Step number one... flirting," Yamato briefly explained, with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Huh?"

"Flirting," Yamato repeated.

"What?"

"To flirt, Taichi!! Gee, you don't know anything, do you?" Yamato repeated once more.

"Sorry, Yamato, it's just that..."

"Just that _what_?"

"Well... this may sound a little embarrassing, but..."

"But _what_?"

"What's _flirt_?"

Yamato loses his balance and falls at the sound of Taichi's question.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"I invited my friend Yamato to come to the ice cream parlor with us," Mimi told Sora later that afternoon, "He's a very good friend. I'm sure you'll get along quite well."

"Is he your locker partner?" Sora asked.

Mimi laughed. "No, just an old buddy."

Sora smiled, remembering his locker partner. How he was so kind, gentle, and loveable. Oh, the urge that made her want to see him again! She didn't mind about his big bruise on his chin. He was still very cute any way.

All that made her wonder... why would Mimi think he was a jerk?

"Sorry we're late!"

Sora turned around and spotted a blond guy with blue eyes. "Hi," she greeted him, "I'm Sora."

He smiled at her. "Hey, my name's Yamato. But you can call me Matt, or Yama."

"Hi Yamato!" Mimi called, "We saved a spot for you."

"Thanks, Meems," Yamato said. He brought a chair from the table beside. "Why are you bringing another chair?" Mimi asked.

"Oh, someone else is going to be here," Matt answered.

"Who?" Mimi inquired again, getting annoyed. Sora could tell Mimi hadn't really invited anyone else.

"Yo, peepz!"

Sora turned around. "Taichi?" she whispered. Taichi was dressed... differently. The green-colored uniform he was wearing at school earlier was replaced by a black tank top, a pair of dark green baggy pants with holes just about everywhere, spiked-up-pointy hair (like Davis'), and irregularly-shaped sunglasses.

"Yo, Sora!" Tai whispered with a flirty voice. He winked at her and sat down next to Yamato.

"Taichi... what are you _wearing_?" Sora asked, confused. "Don't worry, babe, I know you love me," Taichi replied, winking at her. Sora quietly groaned. _This isn't the Taichi I met this morning_, she thought.

"Wait a minute... you guys--you guys know each other?" Mimi asked.

"Duh. Me and foxy are locker partners. Huh, Fox?"

That was it for Sora Takenouchi. She'd had enough. Sora stood up and started yelling, "One; I am NOT a fox. Two; I don't know you AT ALL. Three; What's up with your dumbass attitude?! And four; Don't you dare speak to me EVER AGAIN."

With that, she stormed out of the place. Mimi punched the table. "I KNEW IT! YOU STUPID FREAKIN' BASTARD! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER CAME IN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! WHO THE HELL INVITED YOU, ANYWAY??"

She ran out to get Sora. "Well, I guess it's just you and me left," Yamato sighed.

"No way. You know what? Just forget it. You and your stupid plans have already made my day. Now Sora hates me," Taichi yelled. He left, leaving Yamato behind. _Well, I can't say I'm not the guilty one here... but I'm sure what I have in mind now will have to work_, he decided.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

_I guess I was wrong about Taichi all along_, Sora thought the next day as she walked out of Homeroom. She checked her schedule. "Technology."

She stood in the hallway, staring up front. She couldn't believe how big the school was. Sora sighed, thinking about a way to get to her locker without letting Taichi notice her.

She walked towards the hallway and spotted her--and Taichi's--locker close by. She looked left and right, but found no trace of puffy brown hair. She proceeded towards her locker, but there was a problem. She had forgotten to look front.

Therefore, it caused her to bump into someone as she fell down, dropping her books everywhere. She looked up and realized she'd bumped into Tai.

"Sora! Gomen ne (Sorry)!!! I am _so_ sorry!" Taichi apologized. Sora stood up, as Taichi grabbed her books and gave them to her. "Thank you," she said and just headed to her locker.

When she got out her needy stationery for technology class, she realized she didn't know how to get there. She looked at Tai, who was heading towards his next class. His clothes were back to normal. She glanced around, but there was no one else in sight. _Should I ask him? _she thought, _no, I can't do it, not after what happened yesterday_.

But then again... she missed talking to him. And besides, she didn't want to ruin her permanent record for college for being late, or maybe even skipping class. Sora sighed. "Taichi."

Even though she had whispered, Taichi had heard her clearly. He didn't really want to talk to her, and he hadn't expected too. All because of what happened yesterday. And when she avoided him today, it made him feel even more stressed out. But at the same time... he had his chance to talk to her once again now. He turned around, immediately, to face her.

"Not to bother you, but... do you know where the technology class is?" Sora asked.

Taichi smiled to himself. "Yeah. Follow me."

~~**~~

"Thanks, Taichi."

"No problem."

As Taichi left for his own class, Sora wondered... he was so different from yesterday after school. _Maybe he just acts this way at school_, she thought, with a worried expression on her face.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"You wanna know what I think?" Yamato asked Taichi later that day. Taichi shrugged. "Okay."

"I think that Sora admires your sense of humor."

"...So?"

"So you gotta show it off to her. You're a humor kid, Taichi."

"Humor kid?!"

"Humor kid," Yamato made clear.

Taichi's lips formed into a wiggly zig-zag line, expressing confusion.

"Wow! How'd you do that, man?" Yamato asked.

"Do _what_?" Taichi was even more confused now. What the heck was 'humor kid', anyway?

"That goofy smile of yours!" Yamato said, "That's so cool!"

"Really?"

"Definitely!"

Taichi headed to the boys' room and looked at himself in the mirror. He tried the wiggly thing again. He jumped. "Whoa! What was _that_?"

As he headed back to Yamato, Taichi shrugged. "What?" Matt asked.

"No... no, I don't think so."

"Come on, Tai! Even _I_ love it. Look, maybe Sora didn't like the flirting, because... well, she might have thought you were too serious," Yamato told Taichi the other day.

Taichi thought for a moment. "If it doesn't work, it'll be all your fault."

Taichi left towards his locker.

"Don't fail him today," Yamato wished, crossing his fingers. He had the biggest smile on his face, thinking about Taichi's strange confused expression.

He ended cracking up.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Taichi was standing by his locker, whistling. "Sora!" he called as he spotted the auburn-haired girl. Sora smiled at him and left to her next class.

"...God! I was just about to!" Taichi yelled, talking about his funky mouth.

"About to _what_, Yagami?"

Taichi turned around and gasped. "Please, not right now!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Yamato wandered throughout the hall after his last class. He thought out loud, "Maybe I should tell Sora--"

"Tell me what?" Sora appeared out of nowhere. Yamato smiled, hiding his thoughts. "Hey Sora," he greeted. Sora nodded, "Hi."

"So... is everything going OK with you and, you know, Tai?" he asked her.

Sora, confused, responded, "I don't really know what's with him lately."

"Oh, don't worry, you don't know him that well yet. I'm telling you, he's _so_ funny."

Sora smiled. "Thanks, but that doesn't interest me."

Yamato's eyes grew wide. "Okay... then, what kind of guys do you like?"

Sora eyed Yamato suspiciously. "What kind of question is this?"

"Oh, no kind, just a question."

"Did Taichi tell you to ask me this or something?" Sora asked.

"No, no... Tai has nothing to do with this."

"Then why are you asking me this?"

"Uh, no reason."

"Oh, well then, I won't tell you. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave now," Sora started to leave.

"Aw, crap," Matt whispered behind Sora's back.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Taichi's back was sore and his nose was bleeding. "Araki...," Taichi managed to say.

"That's for the bad nose you gave me," Junnosuke Araki stated. Tai brought his hand to his nose. _What would Sora say? _he thought. As Tai's rival left with his laughing friends behind him, he sighed and wished this never happened. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see someone watching him. He turned around and saw the brunette Mimi Tachikawa.

"Mimi?"

The girl approached him. "What the hell happened to your nose?"

Taichi's face dropped, thinking about what Mimi thought of him. Of course, it'd be worse for him to think of what _Sora _would think. "It's a long story," Taichi answered.

"I've got time."

Taichi looked at her, wide-eyed. "Time? I thought you hated me."

"Well, it makes me curious to find out about the tough guy who actually gets beaten up."

Taichi gave Mimi a lopsided grin. "Well... it's actually... none of your business."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Fine. But at least tell me why you're always bugging Sora around."

Bugging?,Taichi thought. "Does Sora think I'm bugging her?"

"Of course you're bugging her!" Mimi lied. "She deserves _so_ much better than you."

Taichi's heart broke into half, and his smile suddenly faded. "Thanks, Mimi."

He walked toward his next class.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Oh, come on Tai, you know Mimi said that because she hates you," Yamato told his friend between classes. Taichi wasn't convinced. He shook his head. "But she knows Sora more than anyone else, so how could I not believe her?"

"Because she might not be telling the truth," Matt tried cheering him up.

Tai shook his head.

"Come on, man, chill," Matt said.

Taichi shook his head again. "I can't."

"Then... how about trying the goofy grin thing?"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Sora saw Taichi lurching towards their locker. "Tai!"

Taichi turned around. "Sora.."

Sora smiled. "What's with your back?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Oh, by the way," Taichi added, "why did the chicken cross the road?" he said, according to Matt's plans. Sora giggled. "What are you trying to say?" she asked.

Now is the time, Tai thought. His lips formed a squiggly line, that confused goofy expression of his. "You mean you don't know that the chicken wanted to get to the other side?"

Sora stared wide-eyed at Taichi's funky mouth. "Huh?" she blurted out, amazed.

"HAHAAHAHAAAHAHAA!!" Taichi laughed--a fake laugh.

Sora was confused by all this. "Tai... what's wrong?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he continued laughing, relying on Yamato's plans.

"You--You're scaring me, Tai."

Taichi stopped laughing. "I... I am?"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"What do you mean she was scared and just walked away?" Yamato asked once again, frustrated that his second plan didn't work either.

"I mean that she was scared and just walked away."

"That's impossible. Are you sure you did what I told you to do?"

"YES!" Taichi answered. He sighed, "Mimi was right, Sora deserves much better."

"Whatever you did, _you're _the one who deserves much better, Tai."

"But I really like her."

"And that's why I've come up with a new plan."

"And that is...?"

"And that is... help. Girls love guys helping them."

Taichi sighed. "It better work."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Oh, for the love of God, Taichi! What happened to you?" Mrs. Yagami screamed when Tai got back home.

"Nothing," Taichi lied and lurched to his room that he shared with his little sister, Hikari. Tai sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I wish Sora knew how I felt about her."

"Who's Sora?"

Tai turned around. "Kari!!"

Hikari smiled. "Tai's got a girlfriend! Tai's got a girlfriend!" she repeated over and over again. Mrs. Yagami rushed in the room. "TAICHI! What did I tell you about no dating until you graduate from college?!" she yelled.

"But mom--"

"Are you just dating this 'Sora' so you want to look cool? That is just NOT acceptable, Taichi!"

"But--"

"Is this how you got your bruises and sore back? For dating someone else's girlfriend?"

"MOM! LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE! I'm not dating anyone nor do I have a girlfriend!" Taichi practically shouted at his own mother. "Gomen (Sorry)."

Tai's mother sighed. "OK, honey. I believe you. But there's something I have to know as a mother. Who is this person who keeps beating you up?"

Tai shook his head. "No one."

Mrs. Yagami gave up. He wasn't going to tell her anything, anyway. He wasn't even going to tell her who this 'Sora' was. "If you get more bruises or injuries by tomorrow, I'm going to have to go to school with you."

Taichi was wide-eyed. "But mom--"

"No exceptions," Mrs. Yagami ended the conversation, and left.

Taichi thought about how embarrassing it would be with her mother having to follow him around every second at his school. He groaned. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kari watching him. "Go away," he instructed his little sister.

"Hai, oniisan-chan (Yes, brother)," Hikari left, feeling sorry for his older brother.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"He's a jerk, don't worry. I already told him that you could care less about him, so he'll back off now," Mimi told her friend after school.

Somehow, Sora disagreed with Mimi's point of view. "But... Mimi-chan, just because he likes to laugh doesn't mean he's a jerk."

Mimi glared at her. "Are you saying you _like_ Taichi?" she asked.

Sora blushed, then shook her head. "No!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

The phone rang at Yamato's house. "Moshi moshi? (Hello?)" Matt said through the phone.

"Hey, Matt."

"Yo, Tai! What's going on?"

"Ugh... I'm busted. If I get beaten up by Araki tomorrow..."

"Uh-huh...?"

"My mom's gonna..."

"Talk to Araki's parents?"

"Even worse."

"What is it?"

Taichi sighed. "Okaa-san (Mom) is gonna follow me EVERY SINGLE SECOND the next day at school."

"...And that's bad?"

"YES. Matt, your dad's cool and all, but my mom... you know... if Sora sees me with her..."

"Oh, I see, I see. How about hiring some body guards instead?"

Taichi rolled his eyes. "You're crazy."

"Ne, what are you gonna do?"

"Avoid getting beaten up, I guess..."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

The next day at school, Sora tried to stuff her binder in the locker that she shared with Taichi. "Arrrgh," she protested, "Get in there already!"

Tai spotted Sora by their locker. "Here, let mehelp you," he offered.

Taichi took out everything from the locker and began to put everything back in an organized way. He looked up at Sora and smiled. The ruby-eyed girl blushed at this. "Th--th...thanks."

"Anytime," Taichi answered as he began walking to his next class, until...

"You're not going anywhere until you get a piece of me, Yagami."

Junnosuke. Uh-oh. Double uh-oh! If he got beaten up again... he'd have to be embarrassed for the rest of his life. And then again, if Sora saw him fight Junnosuke, she'd think he was a jerk. Sure, he was a jerk back then, when all he did was fight. But that was a long time ago. After he'd met Sora, everything had changed.

"Araki... PLEASE! Stop this for once!"

Junnosuke laughed. "After what you did to my nose?" he responded, "No way."

Taichi sighed.

"You know what, Yagami? That girl over there," Junnosuke pointed at a girl by her locker, "her name's Nyoko. That's my ex. She dumped me because of my nose."

Sora watched and overheard all of this.

"Well then, she wasn't worthy enough," Taichi responded.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WASN'T WORTHY ENOUGH???" Junnosuke complained. "Of course she was worthy enough!!! We're practically MADE for each other!!"

_Not as much as Sora and I are_, Taichi thought. He blushed.

"What the hell are you blushing at?" Junnosuke demanded to know.

Taichi stepped backwards. _He saw me blush?_ "Uh... nothing, nothing," he answered.

"You deserve some crap, Yagami!" Junnosuke yelled for the whole school to hear.

Uh-oh. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Still by her locker, Sora gasped. _Taichi... is he being bullied?,_ she asked herself.

Taichi evaded the punch Junnosuke was about to give him. "PLEASE ARAKI!! I BEG OF YOU TO STOP!"

Junnosuke ignored him. "THIS IS FOR MY NOSE!" he punched Taichi in the guts. Tai groaned in pain as he fell on the floor. He held his stomach with his hand.

Sora gasped at the punch Junnosuke had given Taichi. She didn't know what to do! _Where's Yamato!?!?!?_

"AND THIS IS FOR YOU, NYOKO!!!" This time, Junnosuke formed a very hard fist and was ready to punch Taichi, when...

"STOP THIS!"

Taichi managed to look at the person who had stopped Junnosuke from punching him. "Sora...," he whispered.

Junnosuke glanced at whoever stopped him. He dropped his hand, speechless.

Sora reached over to Taichi. "Are you okay?" she asked, trying to hold him up. Tai had his eyes closed. Poor thing, he was almost breathless. She put his arm around her own shoulders and started walking him to the clinic.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Whoa, Junno, you sure got busted," one of Junnosuke's pals remarked, "by a girl!!!"

Junnosuke glared at his pal, which made him shut up. _Hmm..., _he thought, as he was lost in deep contemplation.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Taichi woke up and found himself in the clinic. Ms. Akimoto, the nurse, walked in the pale white room. "Mr. Yagami, I see you're awake."

Tai nodded. Ms. Akimoto smiled. She was kind of chubby and had cherry-red hair. "We called your mother to see you," she informed, "Who did this to you?"

Oh, great. They had called his mom. His mom! Taichi was too hurt to speak. He smiled and motioned that he was okay. "Did Ms. Takenouchi do anything to you?" Ms. Akimoto asked. Taichi blushed and shook his head. "She brought you in here," the nurse explained, "so I thought that she might have been the one who had hurt you."

Taichi shook his head again. "Well then, that's very nice of Ms. Takenouchi to bring you here. Don't you agree?" Ms. Akimoto said. Taichi blushed a deeper shade of red. He looked down and nodded.

There was a knock on the door. "Oh, that must be your mother," Ms. Akimoto told Taichi.

Tai pressed his lips together and gulped. Now he had to spend the rest of the school day with his mother following him around!

"Taichi!" Mrs. Yagami came rushing in, "Daijoubu ka? (Are you all right?)"

"I'm okay...," Tai managed to whisper. "Who did this to you?!" she demanded to know, "Tell me, Taichi! Was it that 'Sora' girl?"

Taichi moaned as the pain in his stomach stroke him again. He shook his head. "Then who was it?" Mrs. Yagami anxiously asked.

Yamato rushed in. "Tai! I heard about what happened!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Tai nodded. Mrs. Yagami asked, "What happened, Yamato?"

Yamato started to explain, when someone else walked in.

"Taichi!"

Tai smiled at the shadowy figure appearing at the door. "Sora..."

Sora walked over to him. "I'm so sorry Tai... I should have stopped him sooner."

Taichi shook his head, "It's okay..."

Mrs. Yagami looked over at the ruby-eyed girl. "You're Sora?"

Sora looked at Taichi's mother. "Yes," she answered.

"What did you do to my son?"

Sora didn't know what to say. "What do you mean?"

"What did you do to him?"

"I..."

Yamato stared in amusement back and forth, from Sora to Mrs. Yagami.

"Answer me!"

"Mom!" Taichi shouted lightly. "Sora... stopped... the guy who h-hit me from... from... punching me twice."

Mrs. Yagami looked at Sora in astonishment. It was embarrassing. Here she was, yelling at the girl who had saved her own son's life. Tears stung her eyes. "Thank you so much for saving my son," she told her Tai's crush. "Are you Taichi's girlfriend?" she asked.

Taichi turned around and blushed in discomfiture. _Gosh... why did she have to ask her that?!_

Sora giggled. "No, we're locker partners."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

An hour had passed, and Mrs. Yagami was convinced that Taichi would be okay with Sora by his side. She had left twenty minutes earlier. When Taichi felt better, Sora accompanied him to their locker.

"Sora," Taichi began. Sora smiled, "Yeah?"

"Arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you very much)."

Sora blushed, but didn't realize it was bizarre of her, because Taichi was blushing as well. But the tender emotions ended when Junnosuke, once again, appeared out of nowhere. "Welcome back, Yagami."

Sora stood between the two. "What do you want from him?" she asked.

Junnosuke grinned at the girl. "Well, I used to want him dead...," he told Sora, "But when I found out you were as powerful as to control me--which no one else can--I figured, I want _you_ instead."

Sora laughed. "That's funny."

Junnosuke laughed along. "Yeah, it is, you know. I never thought I'd end up falling for someone like you."

Sora stopped laughing. "What?"

"You're coming with me," he ordered, "or Yagami gets it."

Sora took a step back. "No," she said. Junnosuke walked towards her. Sora was too frightened to move. He lifted her chin up. "Such a precious girl," he whispered.

This made Taichi mad. He rushed to Junnosuke and kicked him as hard as he could. The bully glared at Taichi as he was about to punch him. "Don't!" Sora begged.

Junnosuke stopped, but did not drop his fist. He looked back at Sora. "Go out with me."

Sora squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay!!!! But don't hurt Tai!!"

Junnosuke let go of the brown-haired Taichi and smiled. "I'll pick you up at seven... _Sora_."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Junnosuke and Sora?!?!?! That's _crazy_, man!" Yamato yelled at the school library after Sora was asked out by Taichi's bully.

"Shhh!" the librarian hushed Yamato. She hit his head with a book. "Be quiet!"

Yamato yelped in pain as he brought his hand to his head. He watched the annoying old librarian as she walked back to where she had come from. "Geez... stupid librarian," he muttered under his breath.

"I know it's crazy," Taichi told his friend, "But... she did it for me, didn't she?"

Matt walked over to his friend and patted his back, "She did it for you, man. You lucky bum."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Sora-chan, cheer up."

Sora looked up at Mimi and bit her lip. "How am I supposed to cheer up? By going out on a date with someone who was about to kill a friend?" she snapped.

Mimi glared at Sora. "How can you consider that Taichi a..._ friend_?!?!"

"Well, he was hurting someone else," the auburn-haired affirmed.

"Don't worry. It's just a date, and it won't take too long," her friend assured her.

"I hope so. Taichi was yelling at me when I accepted to go out with that Junnosuke."

"What for? It's not like he's going out with _you,_ anyway," Mimi said.

"I know. That's what scares me. He's worrying too much about me."

"Damn him. You're a girl, not a baby. He should know that by now!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Konnichiwa, Sora-chan," Junnosuke greeted his date, smirking.

"Hi. Uh... how are you?"

"I'm both, handsome and fine. How about you, my beautiful?"

"I'm okay."

"You're supposed to say you're beautiful."

"Oh."

Sora sat down in front of Junnosuke at the fancy restaurant they were attending. It was fancy alright, very elegant. "The food is all on me, so eat anything you want," Junno explained.

"You don't have to pay it all... you know... if you don't want to," Sora replied sweetly.

"Oh, well, then, the food's all on you."

The ruby-eyed girl sweatdropped.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"That psychotic Araki!" Taichi punched the couch angrily. He sat down and sighed. "Did he _have _to choose _Sora_ among the other girls at Odaiba High, though?"

Tai sat there, eating popcorn and chocolate for six whole hours, watching the same horror/romance motion picture for the third time.

"Damn the Queen of the Dead, HALT THE LUNACY THIS INSTANT!"

Taichi turned around, as he saw a man--or illusion? Unable to tell--standing on his ceiling. Impossible, right?

No, not impossible. After all, it was the stranger's latest experiment.

"What the?" Taichi wondered in astonishment.

"I have been, after all these years, watching you. Now, I just cannot bear to see you wandering about in popcorn-and-chocolate land!" The stranger was wearing a dark cape around him. His dark bangs covered his identity.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am your guardian angel, Mr. Yagami, your all, your messenger from God and destiny. What did you expect?"

"I don't know. More chocolate, I guess."

The supposedly guardian angel shook his head, bored of this teenager's insanity. "Call me by the name of Sander, my young. I will guide you to the meaning of life. Now, what you are sitting on, is called a couch. It makes your bottom more comfortable and relaxed as you sit. In front of you, is a tele--"

"Okay, okay! I know the basics!"

The guardian angel was annoyed. "Whatsoever."

"Look, if you're my guardian angel, how come you don't have wings?"

Sander was even more annoyed now. "Nonsense, Mr. Yagami! Wings, black magic, and all those other ideas you've heard from religious diffusion, they're only superstition. Now, in the name of God, you will have the need to hear what I tell you and obey."

"No way. I mean, how am I even supposed to know if you're my guardian angel? Not to mention if there's really such a thing as guardian angels."

"Halt there. Your younger sister, Hikari, just ran out of film from her photo camera," Sander challenged.

"Right," Taichi replied sarcastically, "If so, she'd be here right n--"

"Oniisan! I need more film for my camera! Takeru-kun and I are taking pictures together for junior high school prom!" Hikari yelled as she raced towards her older brother.

Tai sighed in annoyance. He went towards the pantry and got out a roll of film. "Here you go," he muttered as he handed it to his younger sister. "Arigatou," Hikari said and ran back to Takeru.

"Fine, Sander. I'll put it your way," Taichi gave up.

"Oh, you better."

With that, the guardian angel vanished.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Really? ...and I thought it was just me!" Sora laughed.

Hard to believe, but she was actually having a great time. "You know, Junnosuke-san, I actually thought I was going to have a nightmare spending this time with you, but I guess I was wrong!"

"Well, you _were_!" Junnosuke responded.

Sora smiled. Junnosuke wasn't as bad as she thought. _I think I'm getting attracted to him, _she thought. It felt like being in another dimension of Earth. Was she feeling okay? Last time she checked, she was feeling horrified. What now?

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

_I wonder how Sora's doing, _Taichi thought. He decided to give up chocolate and popcorn for stress and listen to his guardian angel. _When is he coming back?_

He walked down the hallway of Odaiba High the next day at school. But something had caught his attention... the, unfortunately, wrong way.

Junnosuke was flirting with Sora.

And she didn't seem to mind at all.

"Oh, Tai! There you are!" Sora called. Taichi stared at her, blankness in his eyes. "Junnosuke-kun promises he won't beat you up ever again."

_Junnosuke-kun?_

"Oh... great news," Taichi faked a smile. He headed towards his locker in a disappointed manner, but not wanting to make it visible to anyone. "Sander, what am I gonna do?" he muttered, "This is starting to become one of the worst days of my life."

He looked back at Sora and Junnosuke, approximately forty-five people surrounding them. _They're officially an item now,_ Taichi thought angrily. He could picture the news in his mind; the school newspaper would post an article saying, "_HOT ITEM: Jock dating a non-cheerleader girlfriend_."

"What do you think of another date? I'll pick you up at midnight this time," Taichi heard Junnosuke ask Sora.

"Sounds pretty romantic. Sure," she answered.

Taichi looked up at the ceiling. _Oh God, what to do? What to do? I can't just stand here, I cannot bear to look at them together anymore._

"Konnichiwa, Taichi."

Taichi turned around. No one was there.

"Up here!"

Taichi looked up, and jumped in surprise. "What are you doing up there?" he asked, half muttering. He looked around, hoping no one could see him talking to this 'guardian angel' of his.

"Do not fret, Mr. Yagami, for no one is capable of perceiving me, other than you. Every soul surrounding you is invisible to me as well."

Tai shrugged. Whatever Sander said, he had to believe.

"I believe you called me here for some specific motive," Taichi's guardian angel said.

"I thought you _knew_ that I called you for some specific motive," Tai talked back.

"Whatsoever. How is the auburn-haired girl doing?"

"Who? Sora?"

"This is nonsensical. Whom else besides Sora could it be?"

Taichi shrugged, as if he didn't care at all. "How is she doing?" Sander inquired.

"I don't know. Ask _her._"

Sander narrowed his eyes at Taichi. "How did I end up being the guardian angel of someone as stubborn as_ you_?"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Tai, calm down!! I can't make out a single word you just said!" Yamato told Taichi between classes. Tai sighed. "Well, see... Junnosuke asked Sora out and..."

_Poof_.

"Taichi! Taichi! It is very urgent what I must tell you!" Sander exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere. Matt looked at Taichi, confused. "So what happened next?"

"What?" Taichi asked, obviously crazed by all this commotion. Sander and Matt sighed at the same time.

"There is something very important that I must tell you!"

"What happened next, after Junnosuke asked Sora out?"

Both statements were said at the same time. Tai jumped back. "Whoa..."

"Whoa what?" Matt and Sander asked at the same time. _Oh, great,_ Taichi thought, remembering that Sander and Yamato weren't able to see each other. "Ugh, nothing! Matt, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Taichi told his friend, as he left to his next class. Sander followed.

"What do you have to tell me?" Tai asked, walking steadily.

"The auburn-haired girl by the surname of Takenouchi is enrolled in a big conflict! Taichi, you are her last prospect. I learned about her and that sports player seeing each other. You mustn't allow her to encounter him on their next appointment!"

"Why not?"

"Unless you want her to get hurt, DO NOT permit her to go!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Sora! Hey! There you are!"

Sora turned around to meet Tai's chocolate brown eyes. "Oh, hey Tai, how's it going?"

"I'm doing great. You?"

"So am I."

"How was your date with Junnosuke?" Taichi asked, "I mean, you know, you never got to tell me about it, so I was..."

"Yeah, it was great. I never expected him to be such a good person. He showed me his secret nice side," Sora responded, trying to get a soda can out of the vending machine. "Great," she groaned, slightly kicking the mechanism.

"Oh, sounds great," Tai remarked--not really meaning it, "Hey, uh... mind if I help you with that?" Taichi inquired, noticing she was having some trouble with the vending machine. He pressed a few buttons, until a can of Coke fell out. Tai reached to grab it and handed it to Sora.

"Um, thanks," she told him. The brunette simply smiled. "I have to go now. If you need any, ANY help, just ask me." He waved a quick goodbye and left.

"He's so sweet," Sora muttered, grinning.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Yo, Sor. Need me to walk ya home?" Junnosuke asked flirtingly, giving Sora an innocent grin. "Actually, Junno-san... I'm riding the bus today, I have a big project assigned," Sora replied, "Gotta go. Take care!"

"Bye, Sora-chan! Pick you up at midnight, sharp!"

As the ginger-haired girl exited the school, Tai came running towards her, catching his breath. "Sora... do you..." he said, panting. "Tai? What's going on?" Sora asked.

"Do you... want me to h-help you with your... project..?"

Sora giggled. "That's okay, I have to go... my bus is waiting."

"Are you sure you don't need help? Cause, you know, I am one hundred percent free today."

"Oh really?"

"Hai. I'm up to anything," Taichi said.

"I guess I could use a little--"

"I'm there!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"You know, Tai, you don't really have to do this..." Sora told her locker partner, a little embarrassed about what he was doing. She had wanted him to help her on a few things, but Taichi was doing the _whole_ project for her. "Oh, I don't mind... I write for everyone. Writing is my hobby," Tai answered, faking a smile.

"Okay...," Sora said, not quite convinced with Taichi's words. "Hold on, I'll be right back," she advised, as she headed to her room at her apartment. Sora picked up her school directory and began to search for "I"... Ishida... Yamato... "Here it is," she muttered. She began to dial his phone number on her telephone. "Hi, is Yamato there?"

"Yeah, it's me. Who is this?" Matt asked.

"It's Sora. Remember? Sora Takenouchi."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you. What's up?"

"It's Tai... he's been acting all weird today."

Yamato laughed. "I know."

"You... know...?"

"Um, never mind..."

"Anyway, I just wanted to know... does he do your homework for you?"

Yamato laughed really hard now. "No way! He won't even pass me an eraser!"

"Oh..."

"...Wait a minute. You mean he offered to do your homework?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh.. oh! Then, don't worry. Actually, he does that all the time... you know, when he has free time," Yamato said quickly, remembering that Tai was taking his advice.

"Oh, alright. Arigatou. Bai bai," said Sora, hanging up. Returning to the living room, where Tai was madly writing Sora's homework for her, she sat on the couch to watch him. "I just got off the phone with Matt," she said.

Tai stopped writing, dropped the pen, and turned to face her. "What? What did he tell you?" he asked, suddenly alerted. Sora shrugged. "He just said that you never pass him an eraser when you're not free," she stated.

Getting the wrong idea, Tai got a hold of Sora's hands. "Sora, you don't understand! I just wanted to help you," he begged, pouting his lips. "I never help him with his homework, because he, um, hates school!! Yeah, that's right. He doesn't even _do_ his homework! He just needs an eraser so he can erase _mine_. I help _you_ because.. uh... you need me."

Sora lifted an eyebrow at Tai's nervous grip on her hands. "Um... actually, he told me that you _always _help him in your free time."

Taichi let go of Sora's hands. "Oh... uh... well, yeah, I--no, I mean--HE'S LYING!"

Sora sweatdropped at Tai's response. "Really, Taichi... you're pretty freaky," she said. Heading to her room, she dialed Mimi's number on the telephone. "Moshi moshi?" Sora heard Mimi's voice.

"Hey Meems," Sora greeted weakly.

"Sora? What's going on?" Mimi asked.

"Tai's over... here."

"Need me to go there and kick his ass bye-bye?"

"Uh no, that's okay. I just think something's up with him."

"What is it?"

"He's doing my homework for me."

"Now something _has_ to be up with him."

"That's just it. I wonder if he was born with it... you know, his craziness."

"Haha. Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yeah, I told him he didn't have to do it, but he's so stubborn."

"Yeah, but did you _talk_ to him?" Mimi inquired.

"Yeah, I already _told_ you. I told him he didn't have to do it, but he's--" Sora replied.

"No! I mean, did you ask him _why_ he's doing your homework for you?"

"Well, not really, but he told me that he just wanted to help me... I just called Matt and he said that Tai did that all the time."

"Ha, he's lying. Covering up for his friend. I know him."

"So... what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, have you talked to Tai yet?"

"Yeah, I told him he didn't have to do it, but he's--"

"Ugh. Forget it, Sora. Just ask him why. Get him to shoot."

Mimi hung up. Sora did the same as she sighed and walked back to the living room. "Tai, let's talk," she declared.

"Sure, Sor," Taichi nodded as he let go of the pen. He was secretly glad that he could finally stop writing Sora's essay for a bit. Sora grabbed Tai's head, shook it, and knocked on it, as if it were a door. "Hello?! Anybody home?" she yelled.

"OW! Dang it, Sora! What the hell are you doing?" Tai rubbed his head, "And yes, I _am_ home!"

"Taichi, you're up to something."

Still rubbing his head, Tai responded sarcastically, "So you finally found out."

Sora knitted her eyebrows. "What do you mean, 'so I finally found out'?"

Tai stopped rubbing and brought his hand to his mouth. "Did I say that out loud?"

"You did so," Sora answered angrily.

Tai sighed. "Is this the time to say sorry and leave?" he asked, rushing out the door. Tai got to Sora's front door, but was stopped by her firm grip on his arm. "No, this is the time to say sorry and _explain_."

Taichi groaned. "Okay... look, I'm sorry. I wanted to help you with your homework, because, uh, you looked so amazingly beautiful today at school," he faked a response and smile. Sora looked at the uniform she was wearing. "But I always wear this," she said.

"Um, but I meant... you know... the way you _wear_ it. It's so _stylish_!" Tai tried to sound innocent.

Sora wrinkled her nose. "But everyone wears it this way."

"Uh," Tai tried to find something to say. "Talk about cheerleading! You should make the squad."

"Cheerleading?" Sora shook her head. "Not my thing. I play tennis."

"Well, the way you wear those clothes is fab! I mean, totally cool... you know, tennis-like. Now, if you'd excuse me, I'd like to go home. My parents are probably worried sick about me."

"But you said you were one hundred percent free."

"Uh... I _was_!"

"Spill it, Taichi."

Tai sighed. "Do you believe in guardian angels?"

Sora tightened her grip on Tai's arm. "Don't change the subject!"

"I'm not! Do you believe in guardian angels?"

"You could say so. Why?"

"My guardian angel told me to warn you about your date with Junnosuke. He says that you're going to end up hurt somehow."

Sora began to laugh. "Come on, Tai! That's bullshit! Admit it!"

"It's NOT!"

"Then prove it to me," Sora challenged.

"I can't! He can't see you, nor can you see him! He's my guardian angel, remember?"

"Fine. I can date Junnosuke if I want to, though."

Tai shrugged. "Do what you want. Regret as you want."

"So, is that all?"

"Yep."

"This for all that?"

"Yep."

"What's the biggie? I mean, you know I wouldn't believe such a thing."

"Yep--I mean, Sander told me, and I quote, 'Unless you want her to get hurt, DO NOT permit her to go.' What was I supposed to do? I didn't want you to get hurt or anything... but if you deny it, then... I can't do anything about that. Besides, it's not like I believe him either."

"Okay, fine. You can go now. Whatever," Sora said as she let go of Tai's arm. She slammed the door in his face. "HEY SORA! IF YOU GET HURT, YOU BETTER NOT BLAME ME!" she heard Tai's voice yell. "Stupid Tai," she muttered to herself.

Sora glanced at her watch and gasped. "It's eleven o'clock. Gotta go shower and get dressed!"


	3. Part Two

**10 Steps To Make You Mine  
****Part Two **Written & Edited by Hikari-sama

  
  
  
  


"Gomen ne, Yuriko-san," Sora apologized to the pregnant woman next door. Yuriko had her arms on her hips, not too satisfied with the apology. "It'd better not happen again, Miss Takenouchi, or I'll have to call the apartment manager about all that fuss."

"Hai, I understand, it won't happen again," Sora promised, heading back to her own apartment room. She locked the door behind her and sighed. "Oh my gosh, that was five complaints today," she muttered. _Stupid Tai, stupid Tai, stupid Tai!_, a voice kept yelling in her thoughts. "Ugh... I should have closed the door before arguing with him..."

Luckily her parents weren't going to be here for the weekend.

Shaking her head, Sora checked the time. Eleven-forty. She still had a couple of minutes to get dressed, since she had already taken a quick shower.

The auburn-haired rushed to her bedroom and quickly stared at the clothes laying on the bed for her, the ones she had already picked out at noon. She had stars of glee in her eyes. Sora was not going to get hurt during the date, and she was pretty sure of it.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Junnosuke Araki arrived at Sora's apartment at exactly eleven fifty-nine. One minute before midnight. _Hmm... Room eighty-four..._, he thought, trying to look for her room. "Aha!" he yelled loudly.

Okay... make that a little _too_ loudly. Suddenly, a cluster of girls in their bathrobes headed towards Junnosuke with a frying pan and banged his head like a church bell. "Put a sock in it!" an English girl whispered at him.

"Put a sock in what?" Junnosuke asked. The girl stomped his left foot. YEOOOOOW...! Junnosuke wanted to scream _so_ badly. But he couldn't. Not when he was being surrounded by this girl attack.

When they finally left, the jock knocked on Sora's door. _Damn teenyboppers,_ he thought.

After a couple of minutes, the ginger-headed Sora opened the door. She was dressed in a black halter top and a red miniskirt. Her hair was worn as usual, bobby-pinned at the left-hand side. "Let's go, babe," Junnosuke told her, without a greeting. He was probably too rushed about something.

Sora looked quite uneasy, but followed him anyway. "Where are you taking me tonight, Junnosuke-kun?"

"To _Aoi Megami-sama_'s, the most expensive and romantic restaurant in Tokyo." (A/N: No, it isn't. I made the name up. So if you live in Japan, don't go asking me for the restaurant address.)

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Taichi, it is now exactly seven minutes past midnight. Have you alerted Miss Takenouchi about her appointment yet?"

Tai was sitting on the couch, watching a boring, perverted cartoon on the television screen, now that he was back at his home. "Huh? Yeah... whatever," was all he said.

"You failed to do so, did you not?"

"Huh? Yeah... okay."

Sander was at the same position as the first time Tai had met him. Upside down. The teenager's guardian angel was getting pretty much annoyed. As you could have guessed, Sander _did_ have feelings himself. "Taichi, I'd like you back on Earth, please. In other words, WAKE UP!!!!!"

Tai jumped in shock. "Whoa," he said, "Okay, okay, I'm back."

"Good. Now, what was I going to tell you? Oh, right. I'm your guardian angel. You can tell me anything," Sander explained.

Not too entertained, Tai shut down the TV and crossed his arms against his chest, "I know that."

"Well, if you do, then you would not mind telling me what is the matter. Now, what exactly _is_ the matter?"

"Matter is anything you can make out with your senses. Matter can be a chair, desk, or even the air. But light, heat, emotions, ideas, and thoughts aren't matter. Matter is--"

"Oh. Yes. Uh-huh. I see you know your science."

"Well, yeah, I do have a quiz on Monday. It's actually really easy, because I've been learning this since elementary school. I don't know what the stupid science teacher makes us--"

"Um, right. You see, when I was saying about you being able to tell me _anything_, I meant _anything _about Sora."

Tai scratched his head. "Well... what about her? I mean, there's nothing really to say, except she's dating Junnosuke," he told his guardian angel.

"Impossible to believe, I must add."

"Hey--wait a minute," Tai said, "I just realized something. If you can't see anyone but me, then how come you know Sora's hair color?"

Sander grinned. "Let's not worry about that yet. But I have to tell you, it's almost half past twelve. Aren't you going to save your friend from serious hazard?"

Taichi sighed. "She'll never believe me."

"Taichi, tune in to Tokyo CNN."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Tune in to Tokyo CNN on your television."

The teenager shrugged and turned on the TV to Tokyo CNN. "...An unexpected explosion. Live in Tokyo, Reporter Anami Chiharu is currently at Fukai Mori street, nearby where the explosion had occurred. Chiharu, are you with us?" a black-haired woman sitting down had said.

The scene at the screen then shifted to another woman with cherry red hair. She had received the message after a few seconds. "Yes, Midori. The massive explosion attack occurred approximately five to eight minutes ago. People say that--" the redhead reporter, Chiharu, was interrupted by a cluster of couples holding hands, running away from the site. "I'm sorry about that. People say that the catastrophe had come from the bushes and trees just behind Tokyo's most expensive and romantic restaurant, Aoi Megami-sama. But, somehow, most people, around 82%, had said it had come from the restaurant itself."

"Chiharu, do you know why, how, or who caused this disaster?" Midori, the black-haired reporter asked.

"The cause, nobody knows--at least yet. I've heard some eyewitnesses say that they have seen a very tall man holding some kind of weaponry," Chiharu answered.

"Were there any deaths or injuries?"

"Yes, there were deaths. Two or three numb bodies have been found at the restaurant. Over thirty people were injured. Firefighters are now heading toward _Aoi Megami-sama_'s to rescue people that are still alive."

"Thank you very much, Chiharu. We'll be right back after the commercial break..."

Taichi turned off the television, but as he turned to face his guardian angel again, Sander was gone. Why had he told Tai to listen to the news about the explosion, anyway?

Realization struck him.

"Junnosuke was probably going to take Sora to _Aoi Megami-sama_'s!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Sora?! SORA!?!"

Taichi had arrived at Fukai Mori street a couple of minutes ago. He was still in his uniform. "SORA!!!???" he yelled, hoping to get a response.

Nothing.

And it was all his fault.

Sander had told him to warn Sora about her date with Junnosuke, and Taichi should have listened to him. He shouldn't have failed to stop Sora from going out with the jock. He should have been there for her. But now... she might as well be dead.

Tai stared at the now wrecked restaurant by the name of Aoi Megami-sama. Police and firefighters were scattered around the place, talking to each other. Some were coming out of the restaurant and shaking their heads, as if they hadn't found anyone else alive.

If Sander knew that this was going to happen, then Tai should know who had caused it.

Junnosuke.

_That jerk-off,_ Taichi thought, _I'll show him!_ He pulled up his sleeves, and angrily started to walk toward the restaurant, hoping to find a signal of either Sora or Junnosuke.

"Hey! You! Over there in the green clothes!" a policewoman yelled. Taichi, too frustrated to be able to listen, kept walking anyway. "HEY!" the policewoman kept shouting, until she got a tight hold of Tai's arm. "You can't go in there!" she said.

"But I _have_ to!" Tai talked back.

The policewoman glared at him. "What is your purpose?" she asked. But the way she asked... it didn't even seem like a question. "My, uh... girlfriend... is in there!" Taichi lied.

"Mister, there isn't anyone else in there."

"Then, where is everyone?!" he yelled, impatiently. The policewoman handed Tai a clipboard that had three sheets of paper clipped to it. "These are the people that were found at the restaurant, all in alphabetical order," she told him.

Tai nodded and checked the list for Takenouchi Sora.

No such luck.

"Hey, um, there must be a mistake here," he told the policewoman, "because my girlfriend was in that restaurant." The policewoman glared at him again, as if he were crazy or something. "What is your girlfriend's name?" she inquired.

"Takenouchi Sora."

"We don't recall anyone by the name of Takenouchi Sora. I'm sorry, but she might have left Fukai Mori street before the explosion," the policewoman said.

"No," Taichi answered, "she didn't. She left her house at twelve... um... sharp."

"Once again, I'm sorry," the policewoman made clear, "but there IS NO Sora Takenouchi." Tai wrinkled his nose in annoyance. Then, he glared at her furiously.

Argh!... Someone behind him had an extremely galling grip on Taichi Yagami's shoulder. Why would someone do that when he felt so infuriated?! He wanted to punch that person--whoever it was--so _badly_.

But when he turned around, with his clenched fist, he whispered one word that had wouldn't have come to his mind, but did anyway. "S-S...Sora?"

He lowered his hand. The ginger haired girl with cinnamon red eyes who was right in front of Taichi, simply narrowed her eyes. Tai could find no trace of injury or damage on her body.

The policewoman who had been insulted, crossed her arms against her chest and gritted her teeth at the puffy-haired guy. "I see you found your girlfriend, mister," she said angrily, then left the two alone.

"_Girlfriend?_" Sora asked, even angrier. Taichi shook his head, mad at the freakin' policewoman for mentioning that word in front of Sora... even though it was his fault. "No... she meant girlfriend as in a female friend... uh, you know," he lied, forcing a smile. Sora sighed, letting her anger trail off. "Taichi... what are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing... I was just here, because I thought you'd be here... you know... the explosion and all? And besides, I know who did it and you probably know too," Tai responded. Sora gave him a lopsided smile, knowing who Taichi was talking about, "Thanks for caring about me, but Junnosuke didn't do anything. He was the one that actually saved me from the explosion."

Tai took a step back and raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" he blurted out.

Sora nodded. "Yeah."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"M--moshi... mosh--shi...?"

"Hey, man," Taichi Yagami greeted on the other telephone line, not quite excited.

"Hmm...? Tai? It's... three o'clock in the morning," Yamato said half-asleep.

"Mmm...," was all Tai could say. Yamato yawned, then rubbed his eyes. "Dude, what's up? Sounds like you just swallowed some cat's three-inch nail," he remarked, chuckling. "Shut up," Taichi responded.

"Okay, really. What's going on?"

Tai sighed. "Well... you know about that explosion at Aoi Megami-sama? Well, Sora and Junnosuke went on a date there and my guardian angel told me that Junnosuke was going to do something bad to Sora and I thought it was the explosion but then I saw Sora outside the restaurant and she told me that Junnosuke had actually save--"

"So, let me recap all of this... What?"

Tai sighed again. "Have you heard of that explosion at the Aoi Megami-sama restaurant?"

"No."

"You didn't?"

"No... When did it happen?"

"At twelve something."

Yamato scratched his head. "You were awake at twelve something?"

"Yeah well, I..."

"Someone told you to turn on the TV to Tokyo CNN."

Now it was Taichi's turn to scratch his head. "Um. No. I mean. Yeah. I mean. Wait. How did you know?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, you never watch Tokyo CNN. You don't even know about any wars or national conflicts that we have."

"What war? We had a war?!"

Yamato sighed in annoyance. "Never mind. Who told you to turn on the TV to the news?"

"...Well... uh, um..."

"Come on..."

"...My guardian angel, okay?!"

Yamato laughed. Okay, he laughed really loud that his father had to go in his room and hit his head with a stick. "Gomen ne, otou-san (dad)!...," Matt apologized. "Your _what_?" he asked Tai, turning back to the phone.

"My... my guardian angel."

"Okay, Taichi, maybe you should go back to sleep or something, because you're not dreaming anymore."

"But I'm telling you the truth!"

"Riiiiiiiight."

"Fine, believe whatever you want."

"Okay, Tai, get a grip. Now what were you gonna tell me?" Yamato asked, still smiling to himself as if Tai were affected a little too much by Sora's love.

"That I thought the explosion at Aoi Megami-sama had something to do with Sora and Junnosuke's date," Taichi explained, "But I met Sora over there... and she told me that Junnosuke saved her from that explosion."

"Oh, I see," Yamato said. "Well, deal with it, man. I mean, if Sora's alive then you have nothing to worry about."

Taichi nodded. "Well, yeah. But, um... what should I tell her on Monday?"

Yamato chuckled, this time quietly, just in case his father came into his room with a stick again. "You still like her, don't you?"

Tai blushed. "It's not--," he said. "Um. I don't know... I... I don't know."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Hi, uh, Sora."

"Oh...," the auburn haired girl turned to look at her locker partner, "hi, _uh_, Tai."

"Hey... what happened to Taichi-san?"

Sora smiled. "You're so sweet and cute that sometimes I wish I was going out with _you_ instead," she told him.

"Really?"

Sora blinked. _I better be dreaming... I didn't say that out loud, did I?!?!_ "Did I, uh, did I say something?" she asked.

Tai's grin was so wide, it almost looked like a real worm. "Am I _really_ cute?"

Sora blushed and looked away. "No... you're just... you're okay," she lied. Tai's grin faded. "But you just said I was cute and wished that you'd go out with me," he said.

"I... uh... I..." she started to say.

"You what, darlin'?"

Sora looked at the voice talking to her. "Oh, hey, Junnosuke!! I'm _so_ glad to see you!" she exclaimed, happy that her boyfriend just saved her from making up a lame excuse. Junnosuke put an arm around her waist, looking at Taichi. "What the hell's _he_ doin' here?" he asked. Tai glared at him.

"_He_ has a name, Junnosuke," Sora said. "Tai's my locker partner."

"Locker partner, eh?" the jock said. "Yo, Yagami, how about switchin' locker partners?"

Switching locker partners? That was the last thing Tai wanted to do.

"Switching locker partners?" Sora asked, "Is that even allowed here?"

Taichi crossed his arms in front of him. "Yeah, it is." _Unfortunately._

"Well...?" Junnosuke asked, "You gonna move or not?"

Tai looked at Sora. _Come on, Sora,_ he thought, _Say something... don't tell me you want me to leave. _Sora looked away from Tai's sight. She didn't want him to leave, but then again, she thought it would do good for both of them. She couldn't deny Junnosuke's actions... if she did whatever he said, he wouldn't harm Taichi. If she told Junnosuke that she didn't want him to be her locker partner, he _would_ harm Poor Tai.

Junnosuke cracked his knuckles. "Did you hear me, kid?" he asked Tai. Taichi looked at Junnosuke, speechless. "H-huh?" he asked.

The jock glared at the 'kid', and clenched his fists. "You're making me angry, kid...!"

"Junnosuke!" Sora yelled. She would have slapped him, but it would do her no good. "We... we had a deal, Junnosuke! As long as I'm your girlfriend, you can't hurt Tai! You can't tell him to do what he doesn't want to do! You can't tell him to switch lockers!"

Junnosuke cursed at his girlfriend's locker partner and lowered his fist. Taichi sighed with relief.

"Well, see ya, Sora-chan. I'll getcha after class," Junnosuke muttered, not quite happily, then left. Sora watched him leave and sighed.

Tai smiled at Sora. "Thanks."

Sora blushed and looked away. "It's nothing."

"What do you mean it's nothing? I could have been mashed potatoes for dinner today," Taichi said, walking closer to her. Sora hesitated a bit, but let him take her in his arms as her cheek met Taichi's cozy chest. _I wish we could do this everyday_, Tai thought, smelling Sora's strawberry-scented hair. He closed his eyes in passion, when...

"Tai?! Taichi? What's going on?"

Taichi opened his eyes, finding himself in front of Sora. _What? Wasn't Sora in my arms?_, he asked himself. "Nani (Huh)? What happened?" he asked Sora.

"You said something about mashed potatoes, then closed your eyes," she answered, "Tai... have you been eating too many potatoes lately?"

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "No..."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Yamato laughed. "I guess when you're thinking about something too hard, you just feel like it's really happening."

Tai sat down on a chair. He and Yamato were at the school library. "Yeah, I guess."

"So tell me, did you use my plan yet? You know, step number--what was it? Oh, yeah--three. Wait. It was three, right? Yeah, three."

"Yeah, I did."

"How'd it go?"

Tai sighed. "Sora called you, I know that. What did you tell her, by the way?"

Yamato scratched his head, trying to remember the phone call. Of course, it was hard for him to do so since he received about thirty-five calls a day from fan girls at school. "Oh! Right. Sora. Yeah, she asked me about you acting really weird about helping her and stuff."

"Yeah? Well, it didn't go as planned. She told me that I was freaking her out... _again_."

"Really?"

"No, not really," Tai said, scratching his head, "Actually, I don't really remember what she said."

"Well, dude, according to what you told me, I think she kinda has the hots for you."

"But I told you, Matt... she said that I was just _okay_."

Yamato sighed. "Then I guess we'll see what to do with step num--"

"Don't even think about it, dude."

"Oh, come on! She's _starting_ to like you."

"To _like_ me," Tai repeated. "I want her to _love_ me."

"Love?" Matt asked. "_Love_? You mean love, as in true love?"

Tai nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. But right now, just stick to the usual--every man's favorite--the winning!"

Taichi scratched his head. "The winning? How do I do _that_?"

"Well," Yamato sighed, "Just... you know... win her heart."

Tai narrowed his eyes. "But... but..."

"Win her heart over Junnosuke."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Umm..."

"JUST DO IT!" Matt yelled, lifting his friend up from his chair. Then--ooh, guess what--the boring old librarian rushed over to the blond guy and hit his head with The World Guinness Book of Records.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Yamato stood in front of Sora and Taichi, just in case Taichi made a mistake, so Yamato could save his butt. "Hi, Sora, again," Taichi greeted. "Hey," Sora said.

"So, Sora...," Tai began. Yamato nodded, urging him to go on.

"So, Sora... how do I win your heart?"

Yamato slapped his forehead. "Um, sorry, Sora... excuse us for a second," Matt said, grabbing Tai by his hair and dragging him somewhere the girl couldn't hear them. "ITAI (Ouch)! Dammit, Matt, that hurts, y'know!" Taichi said, rubbing his head.

"Dude! You don't just ask, 'Sora how can I win your heart'," Matt explained.

"Then, what?"

"You have to compliment her on stuff, like, 'Sora, nice hair,' or something!"

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "But that's like... so easy."

"Then, how come it's so hard for you to understand?!?!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Okay, Taichi, all you gotta do is compliment her on something, nothing else," Tai reminded himself, heading towards his locker, where the girl of his dreams was placing some binders inside.

"Sora!" Taichi greeted, smiling. Sora smiled back. "Hi Tai."

"So, um," he looked down at her clothing. "Nice... nice legs!" he blurted out.

Sora glared at Tai, looked down at her legs, then looked back at Tai and slapped him across the face. "You perverted freak," she muttered, then headed to her own class.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Jesus Christ," Matt sinned, taking a look at Tai's crimson cheek. He sniffed, pretending to be crying. "My brave man," he said, "You are so brave."

Taichi lifted his hand up to his cheek. "Hey, don't worry--it doesn't hurt that much."

"Yeah, um, okay, whatever," Yamato said, "Say... what did she call you again?"

"A perverted freak."

"Hmm... what did you compliment her on?"

"Her legs."

"HER LEGS?!?! I said _hair_, stupid!"

"You said_ hair_ as an example, butthead!"

Matt sighed and muttered something under his breath, when the worst king out of all worst kings had to interfere with their conversation. Junnosuke Araki. "Hello, _Tai_," he greeted, mentioning Tai's name with intense anger. "And hello, _Tai's_ friend."

"Uh... my name's Matt, by the way."

Junnosuke smirked, ignoring the blond haired guy that was speaking. Taichi was his only aim. "You," he pointed at Tai, "Let me tell you a secret."

Tai shrugged his shoulders.

"And you," Junnosuke pointed at Matt, "You, leave. Now."

Yamato shrugged his shoulders, like Tai did. Junnosuke rolled his eyes. "I SAID GO!"

"Oh!" Matt said, then hurried to leave.

Junnosuke crossed his arms against his chest. "Okay, Yagami, I guess it's just me and you."

"Yeah?" Taichi asked. "What do you want?"

Junnosuke sighed. "Well, now that that annoying Takenouchi girl isn't here, let me do you the favor of beating you up... little by little," Junnosuke smirked. "Don't be a chick, Yagami."

Taichi glared at Junnosuke. Not because he had called him a chicken, but because he had called Sora 'annoying'. Tai clenched his fist, wrinkling his nose in anger.

"You ASSHOLE!" Taichi yelled, punching Junnosuke in the stomach, only to have his hand withheld by Junnosuke's tight grip. "Who are you calling asshole?" the jock asked, his smirk widening.

With his free hand, Junnosuke punched Taichi's face. Tai blinked, making sure he had no black eyes, as he felt a drip of blood fall on the floor. "Argghhh," he groaned, kicking Junnosuke's shin with all his might.

The jock yelped in pain as he bent down to rub the area below his knee. "You goddamn--"

This time, it was Taichi that cracked his knuckles. Junnosuke slowly stood up. "You think you can beat me?" he challenged. Taichi groaned louder and punched the jock in the stomach, only this time he succeeded. "You don't call Sora 'annoying', you hear me?!" Tai shouted. It was as if he was becoming, once again, the old, jerk-off Taichi.

Junnosuke took a deep breath, holding his stomach in pain. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I did!" He gritted his teeth, and tried kicking Taichi's stomach. Only Taichi scooted a little to the left, so he ended up hurt on the right-hand side of his stomach. Tai placed his hand on the area Junnosuke had kicked him. Junno saw this as a sign of advantage, so he punched Taichi's nose.

Tai squeezed his eyes shut, falling onto the ground, holding his nose. "I thought you _saved _her from the explosion at the restaurant!" he said.

Junnosuke laughed. "She's stupid. She thinks I saved her, but I didn't."

"What do you mean you didn't?!" Tai asked, wiping his nose, only to find blood dripping all over the place.

"I didn't, that's all I'm saying. I didn't save her!"

"THAT'S BULL!" yelled Taichi, standing up and quickly grabbing Junnosuke's shirt collar. Twisting it, he gritted his teeth at the enemy. "If you didn't save her, then how's she still alive?!"

"I don't give a shit!" Junnosuke yelled, grabbing Taichi's wrist--the one that was holding his shirt collar with a lot of force. He tried to push it aside and twist his arm, but Tai's fierce feelings had taken a great effect to his body strength. The jock glared at the brunette, kicking his shin.

Tai yelped in pain, but laughed afterwards. "Come on, Araki, I've been waiting for this all my life," he challenged. It was a lie, though, but he wanted it; he wanted it since the bomb incident at the restaurant, he wanted to see for himself if Junnosuke was a real, true bully.

Junnosuke laughed out loud. "You think you can beat my muscles?" he asked--more like stated--watching Taichi prepare his body in a karate-like pose.

Taichi nodded, half-smiling. The jock walked towards him, so that they were around one foot apart.

Tai was confused, so he took a step back. "What's the matter, Araki? Not such a brave heart after all, huh?"

Junnosuke smirked, and took a step forward, sighing and shaking his head. "You know what, Yagami?"

Tai blinked in confusion and dropped his hands beside his hips, then said, "What?"

"I WAS JUST WARMING UP!" the jock shouted, throwing an intense punch on the brunette's face.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"He's okay, he's okay. He'll wake up in a few minutes. Yeah, mm-hmm," someone spoke. Tai heard a click, as if that someone had just hung up on a telephone. The person had a girl's calm voice... beautiful auburn hair and... Sora.

"S-sora?" Taichi whispered, trying to pry his eyes completely open.

"Oh my gosh, Taichi!" said a surprised Sora, running over to the white bed he was laying on, "How are you feeling?"

Tai slowly tried to touch his own face, to feel if there were any signs of injury. It felt like he had lost his face or something similar.

"Don't... don't touch your face," Sora told him, taking his hand away from his face. She blushed at the sudden contact with Taichi's hand and smiled. Sora was about to let go of him, but he didn't let her do so. Tai was grabbing on to her hand this time.

"Tai, what happened out there? What did Junnosuke do to you?"

"Shhh," Taichi hushed her. He unexpectedly placed her hand on his warm and cozy chest as he closed his eyes to sleep.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Several minutes later, Ms. Akimoto, the school nurse, walked into the clinic room.

"Ms. Takenouchi? What are you doing?"

Sora looked up from her position, her eyes wide at the sudden appearance of Ms. Akimoto. "Um, I... I..."

"Oh, I see. You probably helped Mr. Yagami fall back asleep. Thank you."

Sora was about to say something else, but decided to keep it to herself. She had lost track of time and had spent fifteen whole minutes sleeping on Tai's chest.

"Ugh! I am so late for history class!" she said to herself, although Ms. Akimoto had heard her.

"Hmm, well, since you helped Mr. Yagami, I'll give you a late pass just this one time," the school nurse told Sora, handing her a red card with _Late Pass_ typed on it.

Sora took the pass, happiness plastered all over her face. "Thank you so much, Ms. Akimoto!" she thanked the woman as she left.

Hearing the door close, Taichi opened his eyes finding no trace of Sora on his chest. "Sora...," he whispered, mumbling something else under his breath.

"Ah, Mr. Yagami, glad you're awake," Ms. Akimoto announced, walking towards her young patient, "Would you like to see your face?"

Taichi nodded slowly, taking a circular mirror from the nurse's hands. He was a mess; his left eye was puffy, the right one was almost hanging out of its socket, his nose was red, as if it had just stopped bleeding, and part of his cheeks were swollen, he could even feel it. That Junnosuke was s-t-r-o-n-g, _strong_. He stared at the monster in front of him for more than a minute, thinking, who am I now? What have I done to myself? Did I really deserve this?

_Yes, I did_, Taichi thought to himself, trying to press his lips together, preventing himself from crying. _I wanted this, I chose this; I love Sora... I am no doubt in love with her._

He handed the mirror back to Ms. Akimoto, as she said, "You probably want some quality time alone," and left.

Tai nodded. _Even if it wasn't really Junnosuke who saved Sora at Aoi Megami-sama's... I still should have been there for her. I still should have protected her. I... I should have listened to Sander._

He took a deep breath. _I feel so empty, I feel so clueless inside. I feel like I've failed to do something I've longed for all my life._

"But it has already passed."

Tai looked up at his guardian angel, who was in the same position as he was the first time he had met him--walking on the ceiling. "Focus on events and precautions that are happening right now, my child. You need not to worry about the past," Sander told him.

"What are you doing here?" Taichi asked out loud.

Ms. Akimoto came rushing in, wondering what was going on. "Taichi, is something wrong?"

Tai's mouth hung open, thinking of what to say. "Uh... no, it's nothing."

Ms. Akimoto nodded, and left the patient's room.

"What is nothing? Don't get me wrong, Taichi. I am seldom ever wrong," said Sander.

Just in case Ms. Hiroshi came in again, Taichi decided to speak in his thoughts. _Well, get this, I wasn't talking to you._

"I understand. There was another soul besides us in this room," Sander supposed, nodding.

_Yes,_ Tai thought, _what are you doing here? Why don't you go away? I need to think about some things!_

Sander crossed his arms. "You are rather harsh, Taichi. I am simply assisting you--getting a wrong source is never good."

Taichi shrugged, and thought, _How can you help me get the right source? It's not like you know absolutely everything about me._

"So maybe I don't," Sander admitted, "but you can't expect a guardian angel to know absolutely everything about you either. If I'm willing to assist you and somebody else out, I only get to distinguish fifty percent of your life."

Tai's jaw dropped. He shook his head in disbelief, then thought, _Wait, wait, wait, wait! So are you saying that you're somebody else's guardian angel, too?_

"Ah, look at the time! I must go now immediately!" Sander exclaimed, waving his hand as he faded into the darkness.

_WHAT?!_, thought Tai, looking around the room, trying to spot traces of his guardian angel. "I thought you were supposed to help me out," he yelled, "DUDE!"

Ms. Akimoto ran towards Tai right away. "Yes, yes, Mr. Yagami! I'm here to help you out. Sorry, what did you need?"

Taichi scratched his head and blinked a few times. "Uh... no, nothing. Never mind."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"...and so Camilla sat on the dock, waiting for--"

A sudden, loud knock interfered with Mr. Saeki's writing class. The teacher did not look satisfied. I mean, he did not look satisfied at all.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YOU'RE INTERRUPTING MY CLASS!" Mr. Saeki shouted angrily, turning the doorknob to open the door. Taichi walked into the classroom, hearing gasps and chuckles around him coming from his classmates.

The writing teacher stared at Tai's face in disgust before saying--actually, he didn't say anything, he just kept staring.

"Whoa, dude, you got in _serious_ shit!" this blond guy yelled at Taichi.

Tai looked down and handed Mr. Saeki the late pass that Ms. Akimoto gave him, and simply proceeded to his seat.

Mr. Saeki cleared his throat. "Well, since... uh... Mr. Yagami is here, uh... would anyone like to tell him what happened in the story so far?"

No one raised their hands.

Tai looked down at his desk, covering his face with his hands, wishing the day was over.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Man, what the hell are you doing? If you don't get your stuff right now we'll be late for class," Yamato urged.

"I can't go to my locker!" Taichi responded, "Sora will see me."

"So?"

Tai sighed. He released his hands from his monstrous face and showed it to Yamato.

"Whoa," Matt stepped back.

Tai put his hands back on his face. "I told you."

"Who cares, we're gonna be late! The teacher'll probably send us to detention! Go!" said Matt.

"No! I don't care! I'm not going!"

Yamato thought about it for a while, then told Tai, "Fine. Since I'm such a good friend, I'll go get the stuff for you."

Taichi smiled, although it wasn't visible to Matt. "Thanks, man."

"No prob," Yamato said, hiding a sly smile from Taichi as he turned around to head for his friend's locker.

"Takenouchi-san!" Yamato yelled as he saw Sora about to leave her locker.

"Oh, hi Matt," Sora greeted, "what's going on?"

Matt looked around, then said, "You saw Tai at the clinic a while ago, didn't you?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah, why?"

"So you saw his face?"

Sora blinked. "Yeah... why?"

"No reason," Yamato replied, opening Tai and Sora's locker. He picked out the supplies Taichi would bring to an everyday technology class.

"Uh, okay, thanks. Eh, wait! I need to ask you something else," Yamato told Sora.

"What is it?"

"Well... is Tai, you know, nice to you? Does he make you think that he's a great man?"

"Um... I don't know... what kind of question is that?"

"Look, just answer me, because I don't know if questions can actually be classified."

Sora had a confused look on her face that said, 'What are you, like, crazy?'

"Hello?" Matt inquired, waving a hand in front of Sora's face.

"I don't know, I don't know, okay? I just think he's a very nice guy and that's it."

"Oh... so you like nice guys?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Uh... I guess."

"Hmm...," Matt thought, "So, do you like guys who make you feel... good?"

"Uh... I guess," Sora answered.

"Hmm...," Matt thought, "Alright."

With a quick run, Matt left Sora with a very confused look on her face.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Notes passed between Taichi and Yamato at Technology class:

**DUDE,  
thanks for getting me the stuff for class. so did Sora like say something to you or something?  
your friend,  
Tai**

**DUDE,  
yup and guess what. I just thought up of step #5!  
right back at ya,  
Matt :)**

Tai gives Matt an unaware face and keeps writing.

**MAN,  
you're not serious, are you? you know your stupid plans don't work. you know they'll never, ever work. you know you're not the professional advice-giving person -- you know you suck at it, so stop it because I don't wanna follow your stupid, senseless, useless advice anymore.  
I'm thinking I don't wanna be your friend anymore,  
Tai  
PS: what did Sora say?**

Taichi rereads his note. He thinks it sounds too harsh, but decides to show it to Matt anyway.

Before he gets to fold the note, his teacher takes it from his hands and hands him a detention form.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Okay, okay, dude. Listen -- this is what you have to do," Yamato explained.

Taichi rolled his eyes, but still paid attention to his friend.

"Compliment her. Tell her how nice she looks to you, that the beauty of her eyes match her hair, tell her anything you want her to hear. Tell her anything that will make her sound like a princess, anything that'll make her feel like a queen. Oh, and be extremely nice."

Tai looked down at the floor. "How am I gonna do that if my face looks like Godzilla's?"

Yamato sighed. "Remember when you were at the clinic?"

Taichi nodded.

"Sora saw you, right? She saw your face. Did she make any rude remarks?"

Taichi thought back, then shook his head.

"Then that means she doesn't care how you look, as long as you're nice to her!"

Taichi thought about it, then shook his head. "No! I don't wanna see her... I don't want to, I just don't."

"Hey, dude, look. I'm not gonna get your supplies for the next class, okay? So you better go get them by yourself right now."

Tai sighed. "I don't care, I already have detention anyway."

"If you go, I'll accompany you to detention after school."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"O-negai? (Please)"

"Iie. (No)"

"WHY!? OH, WHY? OH, WHY? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS, TAICHI? WHY???"

Tai sweatdropped, then shrugged. "No."

"Oh, it was just you, Matt. I thought I heard someone crying," Sora said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"Sora! Hey, I'll leave you two alone, alright?" Yamato told Tai, chuckling to himself as he quietly left.

"Um...," Taichi stammered once again, covering his face with his hands.

"Tai! What did I tell you about not touching your face?" Sora told him, "If you do that again, I'll have to slap you."

Taichi had actually smiled, although Sora couldn't see. "I'd... I'd pretty much like to be slapped right now."

Sora laughed to herself, until she noticed Tai was serious. "Oh my, you're not serious, are you?"

"Sora... anything that comes from you, I will adore," Taichi said, thinking the phrase would make her feel like a queen, "I'm actually kinda used to it, now that Junnosuke gave me such a bad headache."

The auburn haired girl smiled. She took Tai's hands away from his face into her own, placing them on her own chest this time.

Taichi was blushing like crazy, he wanted to leave at that instant, although there was something about the feeling he was having that stopped him from running away.

"Tai... you're a really nice guy. Don't ever change," Sora told him, which made his cheeks turn into a deeper shade of red.

"Sora, what the hell are ya doin' with that freak-o Yagami?" Junnosuke shouted, making his way towards Sora and Tai.

Sora dropped Tai's hands and backed away. "Nothing, I was just giving him a... palm-reading session," she lied, grinning like an idiot.

Taichi smiled as well, with a content sign on his face. He watched Junnosuke and Sora leave as he believed in himself, that somehow, someday, he'd have a chance with Sora.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Strike!" Yamato shouted in total excitement, giving Taichi two thumbs-up. "Lucky bum, lucky bum. What did I tell you? Step number five was a success!"

Taichi raised an eyebrow as Matt began shaking his butt in a hula kind of dance. "Is that... um, is that your victory dance or something?" asked Tai.

Yamato stopped dancing, then eyed Taichi. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Um, well... no," Tai responded, "I just think it's, you know, bizarre."

"Yeah, I know. You're embarrassed to have a friend that shakes his butt whenever he's excited," Yamato said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"No, that's not what I meant, really," Taichi covered up for himself, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings.

"Oh, I know what you meant," Yamato told Tai, nodding.

"Okay, fine. You look like an asshole, okay?" Taichi snapped. Matt's excited expression faded as he produced a noise sounding something like, _I knew it_. Tai continued, "Although..."

"No... no more. I hate you, man," Yamato interrupted.

Tai sighed as he kept going, "Although she still doesn't love me the way I love her."

"What?! What are you saying, man? Look, she said you were nice, that she didn't want you to change, she took your hand, and your saying she still doesn't like you?"

"Dude, maybe she likes me, but I want her to love me."

Matt shook his head. "You're so greedy. You want this, you want that. Sooner or later you're gonna say, _I want my mommy_."

"It's not being greedy, I'm serious!"

Matt shook his head once more. "So, what, you want me to be serious now? So greedy!"

"MATT!!"

"Alright, alright," said Yamato, "Jeez."

"Help me. Dude, you promised."

"Okay, I will. Give me some time, okay?"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Alright, Taichi, I'm just going to put this liquid on your skin, okay? Whatever you do, don't move. Oh, and try not to scream so loudly," Ms. Deguchi, Tai's personal doctor, told him later that day. Mrs. Yagami was so upset that after she took her son to his doctor appointment, she'd have to send him to psychological therapy or something.

But why would he need such a thing? It's not like he was suffering mentally. It was just his physical body. His heart was only secretly yearning for a certain girl named Sora.

"_OW!_ What are you doing? Trying to kill me?!" Tai wanted to know, screaming in pain at the sudden liquid flow to his cheek. His own skin felt like burning lava wandering about. It sizzled everywhere it stopped.

"It's for your own good," Ms. Deguchi responded. "The damage on your cheeks should be gone after a couple of weeks. About the eye, it might take a longer while. Your nose should be good by tomorrow."

Tai nodded in comprehension. "Ms. Deguchi...?"

As the doctor placed the needy tools back onto her desk, she looked back at her patient. "Yes?"

He looked down in embarrassment, causing his cheeks to turn a visible shade of red. "Umm...," he stammered, "Are you married?"

Ms. Deguchi laughed out loud. "No, I'm still single, but don't you dare try to set me up with anyone! Men are so foolish these days."

"Well... um, I just wanted to know what you'd look for in a guy."

"What I look for in a guy?" Ms. Deguchi thought about it, then continued, "Someone loyal of course. Someone who'd care about me."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Thank goodness!" Yamato whispered in relief that morning at the school library. Oh, no. No way was he ever going to get hit on the head by the librarian with the Guinness Book of Records again. "If you would have taken that psychological treatment, Junnosuke would be laughing at you everyday at school. Talk about nightmares."

"Yeah, and talking about nightmares, I'm going to stay a physical nightmare for weeks," Taichi pointed out, indicating towards his face.

"You can deal with that. Good thing you fell for someone who doesn't mind how you look. Imagine if you fell for the cheerleader-type," Matt informed.

Taichi nodded. "Nightmare, alright."

"Anyway, anyway. I think I know what step number six should be."

"Oh, yeah! My doctor, Ms. Deguchi, told me that she loves guys that are loyal and care about her. Maybe Sora does, too."

Yamato thought about it. "Um... that sounds gay, dude. Hey, no offense. Guys should act aloof and keep their cool."

Tai disagreed, though. He thought back at what Ms. Deguchi had told him earlier, then told Matt about it. "Maybe that's why she's single. Because we, men, are being so disloyal these days."

"Tai, are you all right? I thought you were a man, too," Matt wanted to know, scratching his head.

"I know, but I just think... well, maybe we should be more loyal to women."

"And how will you do that?"

"Isn't that what _you_ should be telling me?" asked Tai.

"What? I should tell you to act gay?"

"I'm serious, Matt. If I love Sora, then I care about her. It's not being gay, alright?"

Yamato sighed. "Alright, I'll help you out."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Sora, what are you doing here?"

Those cinnamon eyes grew wide in shock, staring straight at Tai. Sora jumped out of her position, causing her to fall back on the floor.

"Whoa, are you okay?" asked Tai, extending his hand to her.

Sora took his hand, getting back up and nodded. "You scared me! I... I wanted to see you."

Taichi had just returned home from school, and had caught Sora ringing the doorbell at the front door. "What is it?" Tai wanted to know.

"Onii-chan," Hikari opened the door for both Tai and Sora, "and...?"

"My name is Sora."

"Sora...?" Hikari repeated, wondering where she'd heard that name before.

"Hikari, get out of the way," Taichi stepped inside, pushing his sister aside. Sora followed.

"Your house is beautiful," Sora told Tai in awe.

"Yeah, well, I do all the cleaning!" Taichi lied. He looked down, then back at Sora, deciding to rephrase his saying. "I'm just kidding. Okaa-san does all the work here."

Sora smiled, then nodded. "Oh."

Taichi led Sora to the bedroom he shared with his little sister, then sat down at the edge of his bed. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Sora looked away from Tai's sight, then said, "I thought I saw a ghost today. I just needed someone to talk to."

"A ghost?" Tai wanted to know.

"Y-yeah..."

"Where was it?"

"At home," answered Sora.

Taichi thought about it for a moment, as an awkward silence filled the room. Deciding to prevent it, Tai motioned Sora to sit down on the bed next to him. Sora gladly did so, although her uncomfortable expression still remained.

"So...," Taichi continued, looking at Sora, "Why did you come to me? I mean, you could have gone to Mimi's, right?"

Sora escaped from Tai's sight. If she were capable to face him again, her eyes would be trapped in his own maze-like eyes. It'd be hard to get out of it. "Yes, but I think she's with her other friends."

Tai grinned. _This is so great! Step number six ahoy!_

"What do you mean, you_ think_?" inquired Taichi.

Sora blushed. "I... I just think it'd be more appropriate to talk to you instead of Mimi. She'd probably just laugh at me and cheer me up by telling me countless jokes. But you're special and I think that you'd be able to tell me something about _you_."

Taichi nodded. The awkward silence filled the room once again.

Tai kept staring at Sora, who still had her eyes away from him. He wanted to hold her hand and tell her that she'd be all right, but never had the guts to do just that.

"Sora," Taichi interrupted the silence. After all, what would silence do? Cheer her up? She had come to him, so he had to do something to grab his chance.

Sora still wouldn't look at him. Tai sighed, deciding he'd ask her about the ghost she had possibly seen earlier. "About this ghost... did it say or do something to you?"

Sora pressed her lips together, her throat hardening, making it hard for her to swallow. Her eyes began to sting with tears, but she wouldn't let them flow down her cheeks.

"Sora?"

"He said he was my guardian angel."


	4. Part Three

**10 Steps To Make You Mine  
****Part Three **Written & Edited by Hikari-sama

  
  
  
  


That reminded Taichi of Sander right away. Sora had said the ghost had told her that he was her guardian angel. Would she be making this up? Tai remembered telling Sora about his guardian angel, as she had made fun of him.

But if she was joshing him, why would she be holding back tears? Could it be that she, too, had a guardian angel of her own?

All he could do was watch Sora quietly sob for a while. It was not like there was anything he could say. To try to make things better, he did the one thing he desired.

Taichi reached out and placed his hand on Sora's, holding it tightly. She then felt relieved, as if the world around her had suddenly given her a chance to cry. But she wanted to feel more secure, protected, and safe.

Before he knew it, Sora had wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing themselves into the most unexpected hug Taichi had ever experienced. Letting her tears flow freely, Sora finally felt comfortable in Taichi's cozy hug. She didn't want to leave.

Tai felt like his fears had suddenly revolted away from his instincts, enabling him to hold Sora closer to him. "I know how it feels," Taichi whispered in her ear.

Unable to speak, Sora kept sobbing, hugging him tighter.

"What else did he tell you?" Taichi asked her in his unmoving position.

"He said... he said that I should be more... more aware of what's h-happening around me," responded Sora through gloomy sobs. _That's true_, Taichi found himself thinking.

"He said... that I should o-open my eyes a little more," Sora continued. _Yes,_ Taichi thought, _You should open your eyes a little more to me. Don't you know that I love you?_

"And the next thing I know," said Sora, "I felt like I've been missing something in my life."

Sora tried to pull away from their hug, but Tai hugged her even closer to him with their noses touching, and their eyes gazing up at one another. "What do you think that is?" Taichi whispered.

Silence.

Sora thought about it, not quite understanding what she's been missing all this time. Then, she found herself lost inside Taichi's eyes, as if searching for her own words. Would it be possible, if she found her way out of Tai's glance, she'd be able to find what she's been missing?

Every time she found herself deeper into Taichi's maze inside his eyes, her heart seemed to rise to her throat. She was unable to move, unable to speak. Nothing she tried would do her any good.

Taichi couldn't maintain his control anymore. He began to caress Sora's shoulder with his warm fingers, going up to her neck. Unable to help it, he closed his eyes, pushing her face closer to his. He yearned for this ever since the first time he had met Sora herself.

Taichi kissed Sora, his lips gently pressing against hers, although her lips wouldn't budge. Feeling the warm sensation hit her awareness and body motion, Sora decided it wouldn't do any harm to kiss back. She placed her hand on his cheek, pushing their kiss deeper into each other's lips. A quick tingle of happiness rushed up and down Taichi and Sora's bodies, wanting more, more, and more each time they buried themselves in their shared internal and physical emotion.

Tai pulled back, panting, but smiling at Sora, whose expression remained unreadable.

"Taichi," she whispered. Tai offered his full attention. "I was missing..."

"Onii-chan!" Hikari opened the door to their room, only to find her brother and Sora sitting awfully close to each other. She gasped to herself, loudly enough for her mother to hear. Sora scooted away from Taichi as Mrs. Yagami stormed in the room.

"What happen--Taichi? Did you...," Mrs. Yagami trailed off, but managed to ask, "What happened in here?"

_Great_, Taichi thought,_ life is ruined, and my perfect chance with Sora was screwed up!_ He hated this moment.

"I... I better get going, my mom's probably worried about me," said Sora, getting up from Tai's bed and walking out of the room. Taichi heard the door shut itself as Sora left the house.

"You owe me an explanation, young man," Taichi's mom stated.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Perhaps Taichi could ask Sora at school what she was going to say that other day. Did she finally figure out that he loved her? He smiled at her when she proceeded to the locker they both shared. "Hi, Sora."

"Oh, hi," Sora greeted back, not being able to look up at Tai.

"Sora, about the other day..."

"About the other day, please forget that," Sora interrupted, "Forget everything I said."

"Um... and everything you did, too?" asked Taichi.

"Yes," Sora responded, "Please... just forget it."

Tai hesitated for a while, then said, "All right."

He watched his locker partner grab a notebook from their locker, but just as she was about to leave, Taichi placed his hand on her shoulder. This caused Sora to look back at him, but when she once again encountered the sight of his eyes, she looked down at the floor.

"Sora, I can't," Tai admitted, "I can't forget it."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"You kissed her?" Yamato wanted to know badly.

Taichi nodded.

"So why aren't you excited, man? Come on, let's grab a pizza and celebrate!"

Taichi shook his head, remembering what happened that day. Everything was so perfect as gold until the end. He finished telling Yamato the end of the story, from Hikari interrupting with their conversation, Sora walking out of the house, to her telling Tai to forget about what they'd done that day.

"I don't get it," Yamato told Tai, "How can anyone forget such a thing?"

"Maybe I... I shouldn't have kissed her," Taichi immediately regretted his action.

"No, your kissing her was right. Her leaving your house was wrong," Yamato corrected.

"No, no. The other way around, Matt. I think I took things too seriously this time. All I was supposed to do was care for her, be loyal, and cheer her up. But I crossed the line."

Matt couldn't help but feel that his friend was right. "Yeah. Next time listen to _my_ instructions."

"What do you mean?"

"You were too loyal. Now I have something that will make Sora run back to you."

Taichi looked up at the ceiling, thinking about it. It was probably good enough to give his blond friend a chance, since step number five _did_ work. Sort of. Right?

"Alright, what's number seven?" Taichi wanted to know.

Matt smirked. "Apologize."

Tai looked at Yamato, as if he were the weirdest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. "Apologize?"

"Of course. It might be extremely hard to apologize, but that's actually one thing that girls _love_ to hear; 'I'm sorry. Please forgive me.' Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. They love having guys have their knees soaked onto the floor. They love torturing all of us," Yamato explained as if he were the funky scientist who had just learned a secret to the hurricane eye.

"So, basically, you mean... what?"

"Say sorry, man!"

"Oh! So... I just say something like, 'Sorry'?"

"Dude, do you want me to hurt you or something?"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Sora--"

"Um... I'm sorry, Tai, I have to go."

Taichi held onto Sora with a firm grip on her shoulder. "Look, Sora, I've been thinking it over, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, well, do what I did the other day."

Suddenly Sora spotted Junnosuke a couple of meters behind Taichi. "Tai, I really have to--"

Taichi put his other hand on Sora's other shoulder, restricting her from avoiding him. "Please forgive me, Sora. I really didn't want us to end up this way. Please tell me if there is any way I could ever make it up to you. I am so--"

"Ahem, I think I hear horseshit talkin'."

Tai turned around to see Junnosuke, but he tried not to let him get on his way. "Not now, Araki. Sora, can I make it up to you by inviting you over for dinner?"

Sora remained speechless. "She's gonna say no, shithead, don't you understand?" Junnosuke argued, "She's taken, you asshole."

Tai ignored him.

Sora gulped, then stammered, "I, well... I, uh..."

"Trust me, she wants to go."

Sora turned around to see... "Mimi?"

"Mimi?" Tai echoed.

"Duh!" Mimi stomped her feet on the ground, "Is my hair too pink or something?"

"Mimi?" Junnosuke repeated.

"That's it," Mimi stated. She kicked Junnosuke's shin.

"Mother crap-eater!" he yelped in pain, grabbing his knee in endurance, "You're like a huge chunk of muscles!"

"Of course I am," Mimi said, "And I am also Sora's friend. Unless you want another kick, Junnosuke, I advise you to leave these two lovebirds alone."

"But Sora's _my_ chick!" he complained.

Mimi kicked Junnosuke's shin once more. "Well, nobody in the universe cares," she declared, pulling him by the ear.

"By the way, I faked an excused tardy for you two. Take your time," Mimi said before winking at Taichi. She then left the scenario with Junnosuke. Sora giggled.

"So what do you say?" asked Tai, now more confident than ever.

"Well, I say, heck, why not," Sora replied. "Thanks."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Okay, Hikari, I have a few things to clear up with you. Do you hear me?" Taichi instructed to his younger sister.

The doorbell rang just after he finished his statement. "Uh-oh," Hikari responded, "Houston, we have a problem."

"Listen," Tai said strictly, "You are going to avoid me and Sora in any way possible. When she asks you something, just shrug your shoulders and say, 'Ask my brother.' Remember, nothing embarrassing, or I'll tell okaa-san what you did last week."

"Okay," Hikari nodded, remembering how she sneaked out of the house to go on a date with Takeru. He had seemed so sympathetic that she couldn't resist saying yes to him.

Taichi turned the doorknob and opened the door to reveal a beautiful Sora standing right in front of him.

"Hi!" Sora smiled up at Taichi, seeming very cheerful.

"Uh, yeah, hey," Tai greeted, busily staring at her eyes. He shook his head in order to remain in concentration. "Come in."

Sora stepped inside and eyed Hikari, who was fiddling with her fingers and looking back at both of them.

"Oh, hi! Are you Taichi's little sister?" she asked Hikari, grinning at her.

Remembering Taichi's golden rules, she shrugged, then said, "Ask my brother."

Tai stifled a laugh, just so he wouldn't embarrass himself. "Don't worry, she's not staying with us. Hikari has somewhere to be, anyway."

"I do?" Hikari questioned.

"Yes, you do, Hikari. Go."

"Where?"

"TO YOUR ROOM."

Hikari rolled her eyes at her brother, then left. Taichi looked back at Sora, "I'm sorry about that."

"That's okay," Sora beamed at Tai, "Thanks for inviting me. I think it was very considerate of you."

"Well, it was very considerate of you, too," Taichi replied, not knowing what else to do, but grinning dumbly.

Sora kept smiling at Tai until he began to sweat, feeling quite nervous around her. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he said, "Let's hit the dining room!"

Taichi led Sora to the dining table, where the food was neatly placed on. Of course it was takeout, since he didn't have the minimum skill of cooking. They sat down next to each other, Sora's smile beginning to fade as they began eating.

_Why isn't Taichi speaking? Maybe at his abode they don't talk while eating_, Sora thought as she picked up one of the sushi on her dish with the wooden chopsticks provided.

_Why isn't Sora speaking? Maybe her mom thinks it's impolite to talk while eating_, Taichi thought as he started chewing off a piece of meat.

Hikari stumbled upon the dining room, watching Sora and Taichi eat peacefully. "Wow, Taichi," Hikari couldn't resist but say, "You haven't been this quite for a _long_ time. Besides, you've already broke your record!"

Tai turned to look at his little sister, shooting her a dreadful glare. "Ahem," Taichi began, "I think you forgot something, Hikari. Maybe something like a... hmm... small pact? Yeah, go find it in your brain."

Hikari shrugged, then skipped cheerfully towards her room. Tai, once again, stifled a small laugh. "Sorry about that," Taichi apologized, "You probably don't make a sound when you're eating at home."

Sora shook her head right away. "No, no. I thought you were the one who didn't talk while eating. That's why I didn't."

"Oh. Well, then, I guess we can talk," Taichi said, grinning.

Sora shrugged, "Yeah."

Silence.

Chewing started filling the area once again. I guess they just couldn't find a way to communicate. Once they were finished, though, Taichi led Sora to the living room. Both of them sat down on the sofa.

"Um... you wanna watch television?" asked Taichi.

Sora shook her head.

"Wanna go on the internet? I hear Mimi's on at this time."

Sora shook her head once again.

"Okay... what do you want to do then?" Taichi gave up.

Sora thought for a moment, then answered, "I want to hear your voice."

"Um, okay. Aren't you kind of sick of my voice though?"

Sora shook her head confidently, a smile becoming evident in her lips.

"Well, uh, I can't really sing, you know, unless you want me to make my windows shatter and hurt your ears..."

"I don't want you to sing," replied Sora.

"Then... what do you want from my voice?"

"I want you to talk to me, Tai. Tell me how you feel," she answered, "It won't hurt."

"Uh... okay. I'm fine, thank you very much. You?"

Sora looked down at Taichi's shirt. After a while, she said, "Maybe I should just leave..."

"No, don't leave, Sora. I... I really like having you around."

Sora looked back up at Tai. "Y-you... you do?"

"Um, y-yeah," Taichi stammered. He nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said more confidently.

"Why?"

Tai hadn't expected that question to come up. He looked at Sora's eyes, hoping to find the answer somewhere inside that fire-lit maze of hers.

She had to go.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"So..? Did it work?"

"Did what work?" Taichi muttered.

Yamato sat down at one of the tables in the school library. He eyed Taichi, then sighed. "Alright, what happened?"

"It all went fine until she asked me why I liked having her around."

Yamato knitted his eyebrows at Tai. "And what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything... I didn't know what she wanted to hear me say."

Matt chuckled. "Maybe because THIS IS THE EASIEST QUESTION EVER..."

That was a little too loud, at least from the librarian's point of view. "I think I recognize you," she whispered to Yamato, "Then again, everybody looks just like you!"

The old woman held an encyclopedia in her wrinkled hands. You can guess what she did next.

"Itai!!" Matt screamed in horror.

"Keep. It. Down!" The librarian whispered once again, and hit his head with the encyclopedia. It seemed that he was about to have tears in his eyes, so the librarian shot him a ghastly glare and left the area.

Tai raised an eyebrow at Matt, then placed both hands on the table as he stood up. "Whatever, man, there are times when I just don't get you."

"Okay, okay," Yamato said, stopping Taichi from leaving. "Look. Why do you like being around her so much?"

Taichi looked around, then gave him a small shrug. "I don't know... because I just do, I guess. I can't help it sometimes. I really like her."

Matt shifted his weight to the other side. "Why didn't you tell her that, then?"

"I... I don't know."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

While walking, Taichi decided to take the long way home instead. "What's worth the hurry?" he asked himself.

Tai crossed the street and looked at the house right in front of him. "Hey... I recognize this place..."

Taichi turned around, having the presence of somebody being there, right behind him. At first he thought of Sora, or Matt, or maybe even Junnosuke...

"Greetings, young fellow."

"Oh, hey. I haven't seen you in a long time," Taichi told the figure right in front of him. His body was upside-down, as the first time he had met him, his feet were positioned on air, like he was flying in a poised manner. The mysterious face of his was still invisible by the fact that his dark, dark hair covered his identity.

"That's because your life has been, so far, so good," Sander explained. He winked and disappeared into the air, leaving a very confused Taichi standing on the sidewalk.

Shrugging, Tai turned left and began walking again, until he spotted a very familiar sight. He ran towards the nearby flower shop, anxiously wanting to know what he had seen that had been so recognizable.

Taichi stopped as he saw an elderly man paying for a bouquet of roses. "...Thank you, miss," the man said.

"Thanks to you. Hope to see you another time."

As the man nodded and walked away, Taichi craned his neck to see who the girl was.

"Sora...?"

The ginger-haired girl took one fleeting glance at Taichi, then turned back to arranging the Sakura flowers, as if no one had really called her name.

But Tai decided to walk up to her anyway. "Sora, I didn't know you worked here."

"I don't," Sora replied, not taking her eyes off the flowers, "I'm helping okaa-san (mom) until she comes back from the bank."

"Okay. Well, I just wanted to, sort of... talk to you."

"We have nothing to talk about," said Sora. Taichi couldn't tell whether she sounded depressed or irritated.

Tai looked at the ground, then looked back up. _Say something_, he told himself, _Say something... important, not stupid._

"Sora, is everything okay between us?"

Sora stopped what she was doing, then sighed. Finally looking up at Tai, she told him, "I don't know."

Taichi forced a smile. "Is that a good thing? I mean..."

Tai looked at the cherry blossoms for about three seconds, then turned back to Sora. "If you don't know," he continued, "then how do you want things between us to be?"

Sora hesitated for a moment, then looked back down at the flowers, continuing to arrange them in order. "I... I better get back to work."

"Sora, I really want your answer."

The auburn-haired girl squeezed her eyes closed, hoping Tai would just go away. She really didn't feel like answering that question, especially not until he answered her question first... the question she had asked the other day.

"Excuse me, how much for a dozen of those?"

Sora looked up to see a middle-aged woman pointing at the flowers she was holding in her hands. Taichi had left.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Wake up, Odaiba! It's six-thirty in the morning, Sunday, the fourteenth of--"

Basically, two days later.

Sora slammed her hand on the snooze button of her radio alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and slowly got up from her bed. She could tell by the sweet aroma that her mother was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"Sora-chan! Breakfast is ready!" Sora's mother called, "Hurry up! I need to go to the flower shop early today!"

"I'll be right there, okaa-san," Sora shouted in response. She picked out a casual outfit for the typical weekend... an old pair of jeans and a tank top. After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, she fastened a hairclip on the side of her head and rushed downstairs for breakfast.

"I decided to try something more American today... it's called waffles. Try them."

Sora looked down at her plate as she sat down on the breakfast table. She picked a waffle up with her hand and began chewing. "This is pretty good," she remarked, "Especially with the syrup."

"Yes. Oh, that's right... the mailman delivered something for you today. It's over there, on the coffee table."

Sora looked over at the coffee table. She craned her neck to receive the sight of a bouquet of cherry blossoms.

"Well, I have to go now, Sora-chan. I'll see you later today... take care!"

Sora waved good-bye at her mother as she exited out the door. "Ja ne!"

As soon as she left her plate empty, the auburn-haired girl placed it in the sink, so she could wash it at a later time. Sora walked toward the living room and spotted the cherry blossoms on the coffee table. There was a tag attached to it, so she took the bouquet in her hands as she sat down on the couch.

**_Is everything okay between us?  
How do you want things to be?  
Come to the mall at noon,  
Join me for a cup of tea. _:)_  
_Taichi**

Sora tossed the flowers on the ground, lazily laying on the couch. She sighed in both sorrow and anger as she said to herself, "I want things to be a lot more than just okay."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"I hope it worked," Taichi desired, "I mean, what if she doesn't show up?"

"Nah, man. She won't stand you up," Yamato replied.

"How do you know? Maybe, like your other plans, step number number eight won't work. You have two more steps left. If nothing happens after the tenth, or things get worse... you're dead meat."

Matt nodded in comprehension. "Yeah... but, come on, you gotta have some self-esteem. It's doesn't completely depend on what I tell you, but it's also about how confident you are about it."

"Wait. You're right there, Yamato. All this time I've had low self-esteem because all the advice you've given me was to act like somebody else besides myself..."

"Yeah... you know what they say about bad actors."

"So all I gotta do is... just be myself."

Yamato nodded in approval. "Be yourself and chill out there."

"Wait... what should I talk about?" asked Taichi, "What if I don't know what to say?"

Matt shrugged. "If I tell you what to do, I wouldn't call it being yourself. The best advice I can give you on this one is to go with your instinct. Don't let doubt get to you."

"But what if something I say makes her feel awkward about me?"

Yamato looked right. "Oh, no time. She's coming this way. Ja ne, Taichi... I'll be at the other side of the mall!"

Taichi watched Yamato as he hurried down the passageway. He then looked the other way, where Takenouchi Sora was heading toward him. Tai gulped in nervousness.

Sora stopped to eye Taichi sitting on a table for two at the coffee shop. She couldn't make out any words to say, so she just stayed speechless.

"Uh... have a seat," Tai signaled to the empty chair in front of him. Sora did as told.

They looked away from each other; Sora looking at her laps, Tai staring down at the table.

Deciding to break the uncomfortable silence, Taichi looked at Sora, who would still not meet his gaze. "Did you... um... did you get the flowers?"

_What a stupid thing to say!_, Taichi told himself as he started to smack himself mentally, _Of course she did!_

Sora nodded slowly.

"So... uh... what do you think?"

Deliberately, Sora lifted her head to stare softly into Taichi's eyes. She cleared her throat, remembering the small script she had written for herself at home. Sora had known exactly what to say when she was practicing in front of her mirror, but now that she was actually with Tai, nothing came out of her mouth.

_**Sora's Script**  
_**TAI:_ So, how do you want things to be between us?  
_SORA: _Well, I have actually been meaning to ask you the same thing, but you didn't answer me accurately the other day.  
_TAI: _So you were expecting an answer from me?  
_SORA:_ You could say so. How do _****you_ think things should be between us?  
_TAI:_ ...  
_SORA: _Well, I have to go now. Okaa-san is probably waiting for me at home. Sayoonara._**

"Well... I have... uh..."

Taichi stared hard into Sora's diamond eyes, trying to make out what she was trying to tell him. But Sora seemed so nervous and tongue-tied with her words, that she didn't even know how to feel when they were said.

"Sora," Tai stopped her from stammering. "Just be yourself. Just tell me what comes to you first."

Sora gazed down at the table, lifting her hands up to fiddle with the edge of the table. She then looked back inside Tai's chocolate-melting eyes. It was about fifteen seconds that Tai was waiting ever-so-patiently for Sora's response, but staring into each others' eyes felt like centuries were passing by between them.

She closed her eyes, stood up, and placed her hands firmly on the table. "Taichi, I can't say anything about us until you tell me first."

Taichi blinked in confusion. "But... I asked you first."

"No... I asked you in the first place, when I went to your house... when you didn't answer me."

"Oh...," Tai looked down at the table. It was hard to answer a question when you didn't know what the other person was wishing for you to say. "You asked me the same question?"

"Sort of like it. I want to know how you feel around me... why you like being around me..."

"Sora, you're right," Tai said, standing up as well, "Maybe we shouldn't discuss this."

Sora looked at the floor for a while, then whispered, "All right."

She looked back up at Taichi, then added, "I have to go home now."

"I'll walk you," Tai offered immediately.

"No... it's okay."

"At least let me walk you outside the mall."

Sora hesitated before saying, "Okay."

Taichi smiled as they both walked side by side in silence. Sora seemed a little molested, but Tai had the urge of holding Sora's hand as they fell into step together.

Once outside the colossal doors of the mall, it was when Sora's hair looked damper than usual that Taichi noticed it was raining. The rain got heavier each bypassing second.

Tai got out his umbrella, which he had brought with him just in case the weatherman on the television was correct this time. He opened it to shield Sora and himself from the pouring rain.

"Are you okay there?" Taichi asked Sora loudly enough for her to hear past the rain. Sora nodded.

"Come on," Tai shouted, placing his arm protectively over Sora's shoulder as she bowed her head down. Thank goodness Sora's apartment was not more than five blocks away.

After crossing busy streets under the heavy rain, Taichi waved good-bye at Sora as she walked up the stairs to her apartment's front desk. Looking back at the damp boy, she grinned at him and headed toward her residence.

Sora stopped mid-way, as if she had forgotten something. Desperately, she looked back at Taichi to see any peculiar reaction in his face. "Oh," she mouthed, walking back to him, regardless of her growing wetter. She stood right in front of Tai, looking gently into his eyes as he looked back into hers.

"Thank you," she said, bowing her head.

Taichi smiled down at her, stepping a bit closer to Sora. He felt a sudden tickle in his heart, making him let out a small chuckle. Shaking his head, Taichi dropped his umbrella, allowing the rain to trickle down his face. Sora's waist was slowly being secured by Taichi's firm arms. He pulled her closer to him as he closed his eyes, feeling the sudden warmth of the cool rainwater.

The rain became rays of sunlight when he felt the placid touch of Sora's arms reaching around his neck. "Sora," Taichi whispered as Sora breathed on his chest, "I love you."

The first reaction that came to Tai's mind after he said those words were total shock. _Oh no_, he thought to himself, _Why did I just say that? Oh God... oh Sander!..._

His face flushed a deep shade of crimson, as his hands began to shake while holding Sora's waist. But once he told himself to take a deep breath and try to relax, he felt as if he finally got those words off his chest.

Sora took a step back, releasing her arms from Tai's neck, so that she was now face-to-face with him. To his amazement, Sora stood there, smiling. "I know you do," she said, then ran up to the apartment building.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

_She knew I loved her... what does that mean? Sometimes I wish I could just read her mind, so that I wouldn't have to suffer all day long. Now I'm hitting my head against the wall--ouch! I shouldn't have said that. I mean, she knew I loved her... but she never said anything about her feeling the same way for me._

Taichi opened the door to the freezer in the kitchen. He took out an ice-cream cup and began eating the delicacy with a spoon. He then turned on the television, hoping there were any romantic flicks where someone confessed their feelings to a significant other, and how they dealt with it.

But the only movie he ended up seeing was Sander's upside-down head.

"Dude!" Taichi half-whispered and half-yelled. "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

"Why are you eating such fat meals?" Sander asked back.

"Why shouldn't I?" Taichi responded.

"Why not eat healthy foods instead?"

"Why don't you just mind your own business?"

"Why should a guardian angel mind his own business?"

"Gah!" Taichi retorted, "What is this, _Whose Line Is It Anyway_?"

Sander cleared his throat as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. His dark bangs were a little out of place, so when he reached out to push a strand behind his ear, it was the first time Tai noticed the magical blue color of Sander's right eye.

"Well, I wanted you to know that this might be our final meeting," Sander declared slowly.

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "God arrested you?"

Sander shook his head. "It's not like that. You see, there are times when a regular person--"

"But I haven't even seen you in a long time! How could this be our final meeting?" Tai interrupted.

Sander sighed, then continued. "Listen. Everybody has a time when they're stressed out about something and need a guardian angel of their own. And now it's my time to help somebody else."

"But then who will help _me_?" Taichi asked.

"Love shall," Sander replied.

"Wait, wait... what if I have other problems?"

Sander shook his head. "I doubt you will, Tai. You're only a few steps from being a full-fledged man, and by then, you will have to take care of your troubles by yourself. Nothing major though."

"But then who's going to tell me about my future? About Junnosuke?"

Sander laughed. "Don't worry about Junnosuke, I think I got that part covered. But about your future... it's all in your hands. I can't see your future when you haven't even created it. Your future stands dependent, but when you know something is about to happen, it is always possible to change it."

Tai looked down at the floor, thinking. Then, he looked back up at his temporary guardian angel. "Why do you have to leave?"

"Well, my job here is done."

"Job? What job?"

Sander smiled. "Taichi, you thought I was only your guardian angel all this time."

"Gah!" Taichi shrieked, "Stop reading my thoughts!"

"Well, I'm not just a guardian angel who helps an individual. In fact, I am the guardian angel of love."

Taichi burst out laughing. "You? Ha ha! The guardian angel of love? Ha ha!"

"Well... not just any kind of love."

"Then?" Tai inquired, wondering how such a mysterious, dark person like Sander could ever be the guardian angel of love. But then again, never judge a person by the clothes they're wearing and the smirk on their faces. Oh, and the standing-on-the-ceiling thing.

"I'll tell you when she gets here."

Sander flipped over and landed on the edge of the couch. His legs were crossed over as if he were meditating.

"Wait... who's _she_? Mom?" Taichi asked.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Tai stood up and opened the door, revealing a heavily damped Sora... but still good-looking, at least in Taichi's point of view.

"Sora! What are you doing here?" Taichi blurted out, "Come in, come in!"

Sora smiled a little shyly, then walked into Tai's house. As Taichi shut the door closed, he motioned Sora to sit on the couch.

"Sander? What are you doing here?" she inquired as she sat down. Sander waved at her, "Hello Sora!"

"What? Wait--you guys can see each other?" Taichi asked.

"Well, I certainly didn't know you could see him," said Sora.

Sander beamed at them, standing up on the edge of the couch. "Remember when you two asked me what kind of guardian angel I was?"

Sora and Taichi both nodded their heads.

"I am the guardian angel of your relationship."

Sora and Taichi both turned to face each other, but when they looked back to see Sander... he was no longer there.

"What do you think he mean by that?" Taichi asked Sora.

"I don't know," Sora said, "But I have something to tell you."

"Hold on just a second," Taichi said before he rushed into his bedroom.

When he came back, he was holding a plain white shirt and Hikari's largest skirt. "Here, you should wear these, so that you don't feel so cold in those."

Sora grinned, slowly taking a hold of the clothes he handed out to her. "Thank you so much," she said, "You're too kind, Taichi-kun. I don't know how I could ever pay you back!"

_Taichi-kun?_

Tai blushed. "I think you already did."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"So, what did you have to tell me?" asked Taichi, once Sora was all dressed. They were sitting on the edge of Tai's bed.

"Tai, I was always waiting for you to tell me that you loved me," Sora confessed, "Because... well... it's my turn to say that I love you, too."

Sora's face flushed red as a tomato as she looked down.

"Really? I mean, since when?" Taichi questioned, feeling the urge to start laughing his head off. His heart was leaping with joy, making him want to jump up and down, shouting like crazy.

"Since I found out we were locker partners."

"But you weren't weirded out by Yamato's--I mean, the things I did?" Tai wanted to know.

"Well... yeah, I was," Sora looked at Tai, "But I like you for who you are, Tai. Why were you trying to be so different?"

"I don't know," Taichi admitted, "I guess I thought you'd like me better that way."

Sora smiled, nervously reaching up to push a strand of Taichi's hair behind his ear. Slowly, she lowered her hand, her fingers gently caressing Tai's cheek.

Sora's smile gradually faded. "I love you... and only you," she whispered.

Taichi moved closer toward Sora as they pulled each other into a quiet kiss--the first real kiss shared by two individuals who loved each other and were aware of it. When Tai pulled away, he bent over Sora's ear and softly spoke the words, "I love you, too."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Thanks for walking me home, Taichi-kun," said Sora, when they went into her apartment. Taichi figured he needed to take her since she didn't have an umbrella with her, and well...

"But, you know... Okaa-san won't return until midnight today, so why don't you stay for a while?" Sora asked seductively.

Tai nodded. "Sure..."

Sora held Tai's wrist and led him to her bedroom. She pushed him on the bed and bent down to smile contentedly at him.

Taichi willingly pulled her on top of him, holding her in his arms. Sora closed her eyes as she slowly placed a kiss in Taichi's lips once again. He kissed her back, each feeling the placid sensation of their bodies getting acquainted. A tiny shiver of bliss and relief ran through their bodies as their lips deepened into each other's.

Taichi let out a small chuckle as Sora gently kissed his neck, creating a sentiment that tickled his heart. She giggled as she kissed him again and again. They slowly sat up on the bed as they spent ten whole minutes only smiling at each other and holding each other's hands. It felt so satisfying to just be able to sit right next to the one you loved.

Taichi kissed Sora's hand without taking his eyes off hers as he made a mental list...

**Ten Steps I Used To Make You Mine:**

**_1. The Flirting  
2. The Laughing  
3. The Helping  
4. The Winning  
5. The Complimenting  
6. The Caring  
7. The Apologizing  
8. The Giving  
9. The Un-Acting  
10. The Confessing_**

  
  



	5. Epilogue

**10 Steps To Make You Mine  
**Written & Edited by Hikari-sama

  
  
  
  


** EPILOGUE **

  


"Eh... who are you? How did you get here?" Junnosuke asked with fury and confusion.

"You don't know who I am?" the shadowy figure said, as the phrase echoed over and over in Junnosuke's mind. "I'm your worst nightmare, Junnosuke."

Your WORST NIGHTMARE! Your WORST NIGHTMARE! Your WORST NIGHTMARE!  
  
  
Two days after Takenouchi Sora and Yagami Taichi confessed their feelings for one another, it seemed, Junnosuke died. Some people at Odaiba say he probably committed suicide after hearing Sora was going out with Taichi, others say his useless brain must have affected his actions and killed himself. Some accuse Sora and Tai for the murder, but never found any sort of evidence. An old man came up the couple once, and told Sora, "Your old boyfriend must have been killed by a deity from above." But, of course, this theory was never proved to be accurate, so the legend of Junnosuke's death has come to haunt the Odaiba residents. A couple of parents use this story to teach their kids a lesson or two, while some think of it as a fairy tale. But not only is Junnosuke's death a legend, but Sora and Taichi's relationship has been very well known throughout Odaiba. 

**TAKENOUCHI SORA**

I have been dating Yagami Taichi for several years now. I've never really thought of our relationship so profoundly until I was asked to write about us for the Odaiba Newsletter. Exactly seven years ago, on this very day, my boyfriend and I united like destiny obliged us to. It all occurred so quickly, but I reminisce it as if it were only yesterday.

In my high school years, I used to be an ordinary girl with a best friend like everybody else. Tachikawa Mimi was a beautiful social girl with a peculiar potential in her warm heart. Only she didn't know that I was in love with somebody she would write down his name on her _"Sora Deserves Better"_ list.

I had actually noticed Taichi developing a small crush on me since the first day he saw me. At that time, Odaiba High didn't have enough lockers for everybody, so each student was assigned to a locker partner. Tai was mine, and everyday he passed by, the twinkle in his eyes gave my heart a slight hop.

I remember being forced to go out with a man who would continuously interfere with Taichi and I. I could have just kicked his shin and run away with Taichi forever, but instead, I agreed to do so. What came to me was a shock of pity, because when I looked back at Taichi, his eyes would fill up with sorrow that made me want to help him more than to help myself. I'd rather be the girlfriend of the murderer than the girl who didn't defend the love of her life.

I never believed in guardian angels until I met Taichi. When I went to _Aoi Megami-sama's_ (the hottest restaurant in my time) with one of the school's gangsters, I had nothing to expect. Nobody knew about the bombing there, neither did I. Taichi knew something about it, but I had always refused to listen to him. I had always thought the gangster was the one that saved me from the bombing.

You may not believe in guardian angels, but I do. After that incident, I began talking to Taichi, sorting out little by little that a guardian angel was looking down at both of us. Maybe it wasn't a guardian angel... maybe it was love. I never really understood, because this certain Sander had a stronger connection with Tai. I think Sander has acted as a magnetic force in our relationship. Even if he literally isn't, Sander will always be my guardian angel to me.

Back then, I never understood why Taichi was the only person I could blush in front of, smile with, and talk with. I didn't know how he made my heart rise to my throat every time he stepped closer to me. I thought he was some kind of god with all those magnificent powers of his. But why was I the only one who felt this way? Did Tai think about me this way too?

I didn't know how else to act but to act aloof and disinterested. There were times when Taichi annoyed me by pretending to be somebody else. He tried to make me love him, but I ended up shaking my head at him instead. I was beginning to think that Taichi only wanted a girlfriend for his own good and popularity, that he didn't really care about me at all. If he wanted me so much, why couldn't he just tell me? Did he think I wouldn't believe him?

Tai started going through all these different steps. I think he started with flirting with me, making me laugh, kissing me, apologizing to me... these steps were half-satisfying, but I expected so much more to come from those humble lips of his.

So, Taichi, if you're reading this, I just wanted to let you know that the best thing that has ever come to my life was the day when you told me that you loved me. That's when I was positive that I loved you too.

Yagami Taichi, I love you with all my life.

**YAGAMI TAICHI**

Takenouchi Sora is the most beautiful girl, or woman, I have ever met in my whole life. Now that I was asked to write this for the Odaiba Newsletter, I am grateful to share all of my worthy memories with all of you. Through high and low, laughs and cries, happy and sad, I would never trade these past events for anything else. These memories are like golden trophies stored in a locked metallic door with a security code. This door is my heart. And the key to it is my beloved girlfriend Takenouchi Sora.

When I first met her, I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I couldn't talk or move, because my eyes were locked on her. It was when I found out we were locker partners at Odaiba High that I began to receive the slightest idea that we were made for each other.

I would go to school everyday expecting to talk to my high school pal, Ishida Yamato, and listen to his advice on how I could make Sora notice me. Right now, as I am writing this, I laugh along with the embarrassing but emotional experiences I have gone through. At first, Yamato would keep messing me up--giving me the advice to be somebody else and say something else that normally I wouldn't have done myself. Everytime I listened to these pieces of advice, Sora's reaction would give me a painful look that made me want to turn back time and change everything before I did anything else wrong.

But what I didn't know was that every single mistake I've done and every single emotion I've felt have influenced my life. If it hadn't been for Sora, Junnosuke, Mimi, or Yamato, my future wouldn't turn out like this. I have learned that things like these really affect my future. Like writing this piece of work, for instance. Who knows what fate will upon me next? But what I do know is that if I never try, I'll never know. This is what I learned.

Takenouchi Sora is smart, gentle, and a great friend. I couldn't expect anything else from any other woman. True love hits you when you know there is no perfect match, when you know that nobody is perfect, or more perfect than, the person you're with.

I love you, Sora.

I love you so much that I would die for you, cry for you... do anything for you! But there's nothing better than doing something _with_ you. I want you to stay with me forever by my side... stay with me for eternity. But how about you? What do you say, Sora? What do you think? Will you marry and spend your life forever with a man like me?


End file.
